DC expose: Audiogate'; Who's behind it? And why?

Bengaluru: If the Kumaraswamy government has got another breather after a few politically charged weeks, the  credit clearly goes to  audiogate, the scandal that left the BJP embarrassed and nixed its alleged Operation Lotus.     

According to some, it was no coincidence that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy made his explosive claims of state BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa attempting  to woo a JD(S) legislator backed by an audio tape recording, around the same time that he presented the state  Budget.

It is believed audiogate was timed to stop the BJP from taking any drastic step to pull down the government during the Budget session by making sure rebel Congress legislators stayed away from it despite the party issuing a whip for their attendance.

Aware of the BJP’s overtures to his party MLA’s son, Sharanagouda, Mr Kumaraswamy reportedly came up with the idea to record the conversation between him and Mr Yeddyurappa, and later flew him overnight to Bengaluru to make sure he could drop his bombshell on Budget day.

But after the Budget was presented, the Congress and JD(S) seem to have worked in tandem to outsmart Mr Yeddyurappa both inside and outside the legislature with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah playing a key role in the developments that unraveled later.

The BJP reportedly escaped yet another embarrassment by a whisker as the Chief Minister’s camp is said to have almost succeeded in persuading its party leader, Shivanagouda Naik, also allegedly heard on the tape making all sort of promises to lure the JD(S) MLA to his party - to take on Mr Yeddyurappa.

A city lawyer had reportedly even prepared the draft of a police complaint that Mr Naik was supposed to lodge in his hometown accusing his party chief of masterminding the entire affair with the JD(S) MLA’s son.

But BJP leaders are said to have got wind of the plan and managed to hold Mr Naik back in  the nick of time.

However, Mr Kumaraswamy came up with more ammunition to embarrass the party by agreeing to an investigation into audiogate by a Special Investigation Team as suggested by the Speaker, angered by his mention on the tape.  

Some believe Mr Yeddyurappa’s  pleas to the Speaker to hand over the inquiry to a legislature or judicial panel instead  may have succeeded had not an additional audio clip allegedly of BJP MLA Preetham Gowda speaking derogatorily about the Deve Gowda family not become public at this time.  This latest master stroke is attributed by many to Mr Siddaramaiah.

But seeming unperturbed, some BJP leaders now claim the SIT probe could be a blessings in disguise for the party as it could be quashed in court.

“If a judicial probe had been ordered, it would have dragged on, giving no scope for  relief to Mr Yeddyurappa during the crucial Lok Sabha polls. But now that the SIT is involved, the issue may be resolved sooner, even before the elections,” they argue.