Hassan, May 18 (IANS): Arrested BJP leader G. Devaraje Gowda alleged on Friday that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar offered him Rs 100 crore to malign the names of former Chief Minister and JD-S state President H.D. Kumaraswamy, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to mediapersons from the police vehicle after being sent to judicial custody on Friday, Devaraje Gowda claimed that Shivakumar even sent him Rs 5 crore as advance.
“After I refused the offer, police cases were lodged against me and I was arrested. I am ready to expose him (Shivakumar) once I am released. The Congress government is going to collapse in Karnataka,” he claimed.
Devaraje Gowda added, “I was told to make a statement that it was Kumaraswamy who circulated the pen drives containing sex videos (involving Kumaraswamy's nephew Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of ex-PM H.D. Deve Gowda). But it was Shivakumar who obtained the pen drive from Karthik Gowda, who worked as a driver for Prajwal Revanna, and planned the entire episode.”
A team of four ministers, including N. Cheluvarayaswamy, Krishna Byre Gowda, and Priyank Kharge, was formed to handle the developments relating to the sex video scandal, Devaraje Gowda claimed.
“They had planned in a big way to bring disrepute to Prime Minister Modi, Kumaraswamy, and the BJP. They offered me Rs 100 crore and sent Rs 5 crore as advance to Room No. 110 at Bowring Club. A local leader from Channarayapatna, Gopalaswamy, was sent to negotiate the deal,” Devaraje Gowda claimed.
“Shivakumar made the Rs 100 crore offer to malign the name of Prime Minister Modi by linking him to the sex scandal. Shivakumar's main objective is to finish Kumaraswamy politically,” he added.
“When I refused to be a part of their plans, they first fixed me in an atrocity case, but couldn’t find any evidence. Later, they fixed me in a sexual harassment case. When this ploy also failed, they lodged a rape case against me. I was interrogated for four days, but they couldn’t get anything,” he claimed.
“I have the audio recordings of Shivakumar’s conversations. I will release them and the Congress government will collapse once I am out of prison,” Devaraje Gowda claimed as the police vehicle drove off.
On May 6, Devaraje Gowda claimed that Shivakumar was behind the release of the pen drive containing videos of sexual assault.
He also said that Prime Minister Modi was Congress' main target.
"I do not trust the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sex scandal. I will submit all the evidence to the CBI. The videos in my possession are different from those which have been released,” he had claimed.
Devaraje Gowda was arrested by the Karnataka police six days ago in a sexual harassment and atrocity case.