Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (DC)
Bengaluru, May 21: The audio tape released by Congress purportedly of a conversation between BJP's Vijayendra and the wife of a Congress MLA has stirred a controversy, with doubts raised about the authenticity of the audio, and now also about a Facebook post by the MLA.
After Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar took to Facebook to state that the alleged audio of his wife and B S Yeddyurappa's son Vijayendra was fake, Congress leader B K Hariprasad claimed that the Facebook post in Hebbar's name itself was fake while the audio is real.
Addressing media persons on Monday May 12, Hariprasad said, "We do not have a factory for producing lies like the BJP. Our culture is not that of Nagpur University (RSS headquarters). What we released is a real audio. Shivaram Hebbar indeed received a phone call but the Facebook post put up in his name is fake."
On May 19 Congress leader V S Ugrappa had released a audio claiming to be that of B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra and Yeddyurappa's close aide B J Puttaswamy. Congress leaders alleged that the BJP had tried to lure the Congress MLA Shivram Hebbar's wife.The Congress had alleged that Shivarama Herbbar, Yellapura Congress MLA's wife Vanajakshi had received a call from Vijayendra offering Rs 15 crore, a ministerial position and withdrawal of court cases. V S Ugrappa had released the audio at Vidhana Soudha.
But contrary to the allegations, Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar has called alleged BJP horse trading audio as fake putting his own party in an embarrassing situation. The MLA Shivaram Hebbar refuted the allegations and said that his wife had not received any call. In a Facebook post, Hebbar said that since he was busy in the assembly he could not clarify on the matter on time. In the post he said the audio released by the Congress was fake. However, Hebbar himself told a TV channel on Monday that the Facebook post in his name was fake.
On the day of crucial floor test at the assembly, several audio tapes went viral including that of B S Yeddyurappa, Muralidhar Rao and Sriramulu allegedly luring Congress MLA B C Patil.
B C Patil said that he received calls from BJP leaders Yeddyurappa, Sriramulu and Muralidhar Rao and he was promised a ministerial post.