'We are not like them': Siddaramaiah rejects phone-tapping charges, says Oppn spreading falsehood to 'win over DK Shivakumar'

'None of our MLAs are supporters of either me or D K Shivakumar individually - they are supporters of the Congress Party', the CM said.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah Tuesday slammed the BJP and JD(s) over allegations of phone-tapping on his deputy D K Shivakumar, saying their relationship remained strong and would not be affected by such allegations. 

The CM took to X to slam the opposition parties and said, "Ours is a party that practices internal democracy. The Congress Party is neither like the BJP, where leaders tremble to speak before the Prime Minister, nor like the JD(S), which operates under the dominance of a single family," he said in a post on X.

"None of our MLAs are supporters of either me or D K Shivakumar individually - they are supporters of the Congress Party. Within the framework of party discipline, they are free to express personal opinions and maintain cordial relationships," the veteran Congress leader added.

The chief minister also reiterated his earlier remarks regarding any leadership change and said that 'regardless of what any MLA may say, ultimately all of us - including me and Shivakumar - abide by the directions of our party high command.'.

"We have said this not once, but a hundred times. This is the ultimate truth," his post said.

In a separate post, the CM also lambasted the opposition for 'baseless and desperate allegation', saying they were trying to 'win over DK Shivakumar' using such falsehoods.

Kumaraswamy had claimed that internal surveillance has reached unprecedented levels in Karnataka. "Phone tapping has existed in every government, and it exists even today. But, some people act like ‘Sati Savitri’ (virtuous), despite indulging in it. You should ask the current government...", he had said.