After Crying Foul, Yeddyurappa Admits It’s His Voice on Bombshell Audio Clip Released by Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP chief and former CM BS Yeddyurappa has admitted that it is his voice on an audio clip released by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy as “proof” of the saffron party’s alleged attempts to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition.

In the clip, Yeddyurappa is purportedly heard trying to lure JDS MLA Naganagouda through his son Sharana Gouda.

"It is true that I met Sharan Gouda… Kumaraswamy sent the MLA's son to me to make me speak according to their requirements and then doctored and edited the audio. The CM himself seems to have written the script for the recording,” a report in Times of India quoted Yeddyurappa as saying.

The former chief minister had initially dismissed the tape as "fake" and a "concocted story". He had on Friday dismissed the claim by Kumaraswamy that he had spoken in the audio about a 'Rs 50 crore' offer to the assembly speaker.

Yeddyurappa’s aide MB Maramkal has also filed a criminal complaint against Kumaraswamy, dismissing the CM’s allegations as "fabricated, created and truncated".

Upping the ante, Kumaraswamy had claimed he would retire from politics if it was proven that the audio clip was “mimicry” and “concocted”.

Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar has also said he would order an inquiry into the clip, which also reportedly mentions his name. "On Monday, I will take it up suo motu in the Assembly and will get the inquiry done. We will not let any street urchin speak like this about the Speaker and others. Yeddyurappa did not say it. Obviously, someone in that moment said so," he told reporters.

Kumar said he has received the audio clip and heard the entire conversation in his chamber. He felt that it was difficult to make out who was talking to whom, but it was a cause for concern that some big names were thrown about during the course of conversation.

"They invoke the names of judges, Prime Minister and the BJP national president during the conversation. I don't know who the person is. That must now be subjected to inquiry. Proper forum for me to mention it is the assembly," he said.