Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched a fierce attack on BJP and JDS leaders following their allegations that the government is tapping phones to keep an eye on Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar. "D.K. Shivakumar and I are like milk and honey; the opposition’s attempts to sow discord between us will not succeed," he thundered.

Comparing the allegations made by Opposition Leader R. Ashoka and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to the proverb "A thief trusts no one," Siddaramaiah dismissed them as desperate statements from "restless souls."

Key Highlights of Siddaramaiah’s Press Statement:

"Since our government came to power, opposition leaders have been constantly conspiring to ruin the relationship between me and D.K. Shivakumar. Shivakumar is a staunch Congressman. The BJP already tried and failed to break him by filing false cases and sending him to jail. Our relationship is committed to the orders of the High Command," the CM clarified.

Probing the JDS and BJP on their history of phone tapping, the CM remarked, "In 2018, when Kumaraswamy was CM, a CBI report revealed that the phones of seven seers, including the revered Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri, were tapped. Current BJP leader B.Y. Vijayendra himself had made these allegations then. Such a culture does not belong to us; it belongs to them."

"The Congress party is not like the BJP, where leaders tremble and cannot speak before the Prime Minister, nor is it like the JDS, which is dominated by a single family. We have internal democracy. None of our MLAs are personal followers of mine or Shivakumar’s; they are all supporters of the Congress party," the CM stated.

Siddaramaiah warned that PM Modi has been using agencies like the CBI, ED, and IT to suppress opposition leaders since the day he took office. He asserted that Congress leaders would not be intimidated by such threats.

"It is a daydream for BJP-JDS leaders to think they can ruin our relationship by spreading fake news. Let the opposition focus on constructive work. Our government will complete its full five-year term, and a Congress Chief Minister will remain in power in the state," he assured. CM Siddaramaiah has dismissed the serious allegations of phone tapping as frustrated remarks from "unemployed" opposition parties, while projecting a strong front of party unity.