HUBBALLI/BENGALURU: Even as campaigning for the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka has reached a fever pitch, an audio clip purporting to contain details of an alleged plot to assassinate Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and his family has surfaced, triggering a fresh war of words between the governing BJP and principal opposition Congress.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said an investigation would be conducted to check the authenticity of the clip. “There are reports that the audio clip is fabricated, but we are taking it seriously and will get it investigated,” he said.
His reaction came in the wake of a claim by Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress general secretary and the party’s Karnataka incharge, that an assassination plot had been hatched by BJP candidate Manikanta Rathod to wipe out Kharge and his entire family.
Surjewala also shared the contentious clip, in which Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur, is purportedly being heard saying, in Kannada, that he “would wipe out Kharge, his wife and children”. It’s a lie, says Rathod Rathod rejected the charge outright, saying: “It’s all a lie. They are playing some fake audio. Congress is levelling baseless allegations, fearing defeat. ”
Rathod was arrested on November 13, 2022, for allegedly threatening Priyank Kharge, son of Mallikarjun and the Congress candidate from Chittapur, with murder. He was later released on bail. In a media conference then, he had openly said he was ready to shoot Priyank.
“Instead of presenting a vision for the development for Karnataka, the BJP is coining one ugly polarising issue a day to save their skin from charges of 40% commission,” the Congress alleged. “Now that even these abusive and divisive tactics are sinking without a trace, the party has resorted to assassination plots as the last weapon in their arsenal. ”
“Rattled . . . frustrated . . . lost all sense of balance,” tweeted BL Santhosh, BJP national organisational secretary, in reaction to the Congress allegation.
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