The Congress members also wanted the government to charge the former minister for alleged “sexual assault”. The Congress leaders, including former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state Congress president DK Shivakumar and former ministers HK Patil and Ramesh Kumar, who spoke at length on the alleged CD scam, sought a comprehensive and independent investigation to unravel facts.
They began a dharna in the well of the House, refusing to settle for an inquiry by the special investigation team which the government has ordered with police officers leading it. Siddaramaiah was particularly critical of the six ministers for approaching a local court and securing an order to restrain TV channels from airing any scandalous clippings that would malign their image. The former chief minister has sought to know why the six ministers did not approach the police if they had information of being blackmailed.
The government, home minister Basavaraj Bommai said, had provided its reply to the House, but the Congress was trying to do politics over the issue.
Chief minister BS Yediyurappa told reporters that the Congress had resorted to the dharna using this as a ruse and was not allowing the House to transact business on such an important subject as the budget. Jarkiholi, the chief minister said, had resigned from the cabinet on moral grounds, and the woman in the alleged CD was not coming forward to provide a statement (on her allegations of a sexual assault).
All the seven lawmakers, including the six ministers the Congress is targeting, were previously with the Congress, and were among the members who toppled the Janata Dal(S)-Congress regime in 2019 by aligning with the BJP, and helped Yediyurappa form the government.