Shettar-Raghavendra claim Siddaramaiah's cabinet dinner set minister quotas to turn Karnataka into Bihar election 'ATM' via official shakedowns.
Siddaramaiah denies all transfers; Shivakumar personally targets Raghavendra; Kharge-Reddy revive BJP's ₹1,800cr black money tape and Operation Lotus as hypocrisy proof.
Personal mudslinging reflects NDA fears of INDIA victory; Congress dares evidence production while weaponizing saffron scandals for national narrative dominance.
Karnataka Congress ministers mounted a fierce rebuttal on Tuesday against BJP's sensational claims that the state government is illegally diverting funds to fuel the Mahagathbandhan's Bihar election campaign, with the confrontation quickly spiraling into vicious personal attacks and historical score-settling. BJP MPs Jagadish Shettar and B.Y. Raghavendra alleged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah orchestrated a secret cabinet dinner to assign fundraising quotas to ministers, who then allegedly coerced officials for "renewal" contributions, branding Karnataka as Congress's national "ATM."
According to PTI, Siddaramaiah categorically denied the charges, asserting, "Not even 5 paise has been sent from Karnataka to any state elections, including Bihar," while accusing BJP of routinely looting state coffers for national campaigns during their tenure. Deputy CM and Congress state president D.K. Shivakumar issued a direct challenge to Raghavendra—son of BJP stalwart B.S. Yediyurappa—demanding concrete evidence and warning him against inheriting his father's legacy of "hit-and-run lies." "Show proof or shut up. Don't become the new poster boy for BJP falsehoods," Shivakumar thundered, predicting NDA panic over an impending INDIA bloc Bihar sweep.
The counteroffensive exploded on social media as IT Minister Priyank Kharge unearthed a 2013 video of Ananth Kumar and Yediyurappa admitting to routing ₹1,800 crore in black money to BJP's central leadership, taunting, "Did they conveniently forget their own confessions?" Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy labeled BJP's "lie factory" the "biggest joke of the century," resurrecting "Operation Lotus"—the alleged horse-trading blueprint that felled two Congress governments—as undeniable proof of saffron corruption's "Gangotri" (source). Kharge accused BJP of treating Karnataka as a "private business" for Delhi bosses, while Reddy dismissed the fundraising tale as "pathetic fiction."
