Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka has assured legislators that it intends to initiate a high-level probe into the growing cases of ‘honeytraps’ against political leaders in the state. Home Minister G. Parameshwara Thursday informed the assembly during the ongoing budget session that this was a question of “safeguarding the respect” of MLAs.
“If this (honeytrap) continues, it will adversely impact a lot of people,” Parameshwara said.
The announcement brought the ruling party and the Opposition on a common platform after nearly three weeks of intense debates over a host of other contentious issues. The issue gained momentum after Co-operation Minister K.N. Rajanna said nearly 48 political leaders in Karnataka had fallen prey to ‘honeytraps’. He remarked that it was common knowledge that the state “has become a factory for CD and pen drives”.
“This is not just from our side (ruling party) but their (Opposition) side as well. There are those who have sought stay orders from the court not to show this,” Rajanna said. Another senior minister, Satish Jarkiholi, mentioned two unsuccessful attempts against a colleague.
Karnataka is no stranger to ‘honeytraps’ set for political leaders, with the terms ‘CD’ and ‘pen drive’ often cropping up in public discourse. Hundreds of pen drives were found scattered across public places in Karnataka’s Hassan before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which contained videos purportedly showing Prajwal Revanna, former MP and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, sexually assaulting women.
A ‘honeytrap’ was originally used as a covert technique by intelligence operatives to extract sensitive information from unsuspecting targets. But in Karnataka, and perhaps across the political landscape in India, the term is used when a political personality is caught on video in a compromising position which is then used for blackmail.
Jarkiholi revealed Thursday that there were at least two unsuccessful attempts to ‘honeytrap’ ministers. “This is not just our people but political leaders from all parties have been honeytrapped. There were such cases in the previous government, there are instances coming out in the current government and we won’t be surprised if more such things come out in the future,” he told reporters outside the state legislature in Bengaluru.
In March 2021, a purported video of Satish Jarkiholi’s brother Ramesh Jarkiholi had led to his resignation from B.S. Yediyurappa’s council of ministers. That same month, at least six ministers from the previous BJP government secured injunction orders from the courts, prohibiting the publication of any video that would damage their reputation.
BJP’s Sunil Kumar asked in the assembly Thursday what the government had been doing if such a racket was operational in the state. He remarked that some political leaders were ready to go to any extent to pull down their opponents.
“Which minister is doing honeytrap? Is the government sponsoring this? We won’t tolerate this in the name of politics. This is about our respect and dignity,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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