The Karnataka Assembly witnessed a disruption Friday as allegations of a honeytrap scandal involving a senior minister and 48 others, including legislators, politicians, and judges, dominated proceedings of the House.
The uproar began after minister K.N. Rajanna, admitted to being honey-trapped himself and claimed that a widespread network was involved in trapping political figures.
The Karnataka Assembly Speaker UT Khader later suspended 18 BJP MLAs from the assembly for creating ruckus and disrupting the proceedings of the house over the issue of ‘honey-trap’ cases.
“People say there is a CD and pen drive factory in Karnataka. I have come to know that there are CDs and pen drives of 48 people available in the state. This network is spread across India, and even several Union Ministers have been trapped,” Rajanna stated, as per PTI.
Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar questioned the premise of the scandal, and said, “Do people randomly come to honeytrap you? If you say hello, they say hello back. If you don’t respond, does someone force you to talk?”
When reporters asked him whether 48 MLAs had fallen into a honeytrap and whether government ministers lacked protection, Shivakumar dismissed the concerns, asking, “Who said there is no protection?”
The BJP has demanded a judicial inquiry.
Legislators raised slogans of “down, down” while some held CDs aloft, claiming to possess proof of the honeytrap allegations.
The chaos peaked when some lawmakers tore and flung papers near the Speaker’s chair, leading to an adjournment of the session.
BJP leader R. Ashoka termed the alleged honeytrap a “major conspiracy” against legislators. “It is not the issue of one party.
It is the biggest conspiracy against legislators who are working for the people, and some are doing this (honeytrap) with a clear hidden agenda,” he asserted.
CM Siddaramaiah assured the Assembly that they would not shield anyone found guilty.
He stated that home minister G. Parameshwara had already responded to Rajanna’s allegations and initiated an inquiry.
Congress MLA R.V. Deshpande dismissed the opposition’s demand for a CBI probe and said, “The opposition’s easiest way is to demand a CBI probe as if there are no other agencies capable of investigating this issue. So, the CM even stated yesterday... let’s wait for his reply. There’ll be no compromise on what has to be done.”
Speaker Speaker U.T. Khader, when asked about action against BJP MLAs for disrupting the proceedings, said, “It is too early to talk about any action. We will look into this. Our main intention was that the Finance Bill should be passed. I have done my duty, and they have done theirs.”
BJP MLA and former minister Muniratna accused deputy CM Shivakumar of orchestrating the honeytrap scandal. “Don’t stoop to the level of honey trapping leaders. You have a family too,” he said, alleging that Shivakumar nurtured “honeytrap teams” and conducted “late-night meetings.”
Shivakumar dismissed the allegations, saying, “Isn’t everything recorded in the police complaint about what happened in Vidhana Soudha? Didn’t BJP leaders themselves discuss what happened to R. Ashoka and B.S. Yediyurappa? They have shared their pain.”
Shivakumar urged the public to remain calm and avoid protests or bandhs, emphasising the importance of maintaining peace.