Kumaraswamy demanded Rs 40 crore bribe?

Janata Dal-Secular chief and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 40 crore to nominate an MLC from the party, audio clips released by an MLC aspirant have revealed.

Kumaraswamy has rejected the allegation claiming that he took no bribe, further defending himself by saying such things happen in every political party.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit out at Kumaraswamy, saying he could not defend himself claiming other parties were also indulging in corruption.

"I haven't seen the conversation in the CD. I will not comment on it. Let people of the state take a decision on it," Siddaramaiah told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Bnagalore.

Kumaraswamy is at the centre of a controversy after Saturday's release of an audio CD about him purportedly telling the supporters of MLC seat aspirant Vijugowda Patil, a JD-S leader from Bijapur district, about the demand for money from his party MLAs.

Asked about Kumaraswamy's allegations that all parties are involved in such scandals, Siddaramaiah said, "If a cat drinks the milk closing its eyes, it doesn't mean that the entire world is not watching it drink the milk."

"Whoever has done.. mistake is a mistake. Corruption is corruption. If he (Kumaraswamy) says other parties are also doing it, is not a defence at all," he said.

In the CD which surfaced mysteriously with all the Kannada TV channels playing the audio clip, Kumaraswamy was purportedly heard telling the supporters of Patil "Each MLA (of JDS) is asking for one crore. They are saying you make anybody the MLC..."

At another point, Kumaraswamy was heard saying "40 people (JDS MLAs) are asking for 40 crore... This is my fate."

Reacting to it, Kumaraswamy did not disown the authenticity of the conversation but said he had only discussed the direction in which the current politics was moving and it was not proper to portray him as a villain when he only discussed in general the harsh reality of politics.