Before Karnataka govt fell, then CM’s aide, ex-dy CM, Siddaramaiah aide were targets

BJP can stoop to any level for power, says Kumaraswamy

THE BJP is willing to go to any extent to topple governments and this is a dangerous development, former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday following fresh revelations that a telephone number belonging to one of his personal secretaries was listed for hacking using Pegasus spyware in the final days of the JDS-Congress government in 2019.

“The BJP can stoop to any level to gain power. This is dangerous,” said the JDS leader, whose personal staff, incidentally, came under CBI investigation in 2019 – after the fall of the coalition government – for alleged tapping of telephones of political rivals.

The telephones of G Parameshwara, the then Congress deputy CM; Sathish, a personal assistant of the then CM Kumaraswamy; Venkatesh, the personal assistant of former CM Siddaramaiah; and Manjunath, a personal guard of former PM and JDS supremo H D Devegowda were shortlisted as targets for spying, according to media reports.

“The names of Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara and myself have appeared. I am not bothered about all those things because several governments and even the Income-Tax department tends to tap important phones. I know that. This has been happening for the past 10 or 15 years. It is almost a routine process now,” Kumaraswamy said.

“Is this a sign that the BJP, which is now spying on politicians, officials, media and activists will one day, if necessary, spy on the personal lives of citizens? The people should be aware of these activities of the BJP,” he said.

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