Bengaluru : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other state ministers Priyank Kharge and N Chaluvaraya swamy on Saturday rubbished allegations levelled by BJP Leader Devaraje Gowda about their role in the circulation of pen drives containing allegedly obscene videos involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.
Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar said, "Better, let him (Gowda) file a case before Lokayukta or any other agency. I think he has some problems mentally. I'm very sorry, the national and state media shouldn't have picked up such baseless allegations. A person who is in jail, how can he make such allegations? All these are baseless. I don't want to comment."
Asked if he will be filing any defamation case against Gowda, Shivakumar said, "I don't want to make any comment or speak on a person who is mentally sick. I appeal to his party people to get him a good treatment." Shivakumar also asserted that his government's commitment to get justice for women victims of the sexual abuse case, and expressed confidence about the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) ongoing probe.
Minister Priyank Kharge said Gowda has alleged that three responsible ministers in the state government were part of a team and that there was a conspiracy. "We will discuss and whatever required legal recourse, we will take,"
"Devaraje Gowda might be doing this to defame Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. If he had a Rs 100 crore offer, he should have told Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) and get it investigated. He could have got CBI, ED, or IT raids done. Why didn't he do it? Claims have been made that he (Gowda) was sent Rs 5 crore as advance at a club, let them get CCTV footage and see who were all there," Priyank Kharge said.
While speaking to reporters here, he further said Gowda is a lawyer and when he deposed before the Judge he should have informed about the documents and should have presented them before the court.