Mystery CD creates buzz, causes heartburn 

BENGALURU: A mystery CD has suddenly become the hot topic of conversation in political circles. Former Union Minister and dissident MLA from Vijayapura Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and MLC H Vishwanath, who switched to BJP from the JDS, have spoken about it, and even slammed Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa over it. Many angry BJP leaders refer to the CD “off the record” while criticising the state leadership.

Who has this CD, and what does it contain? At first, there was talk that it contained sexually explicit material, but that was later shot down. Sources say that it is not just one CD, but a set of seven or eight CDs, and contain details of a top political family’s financial dealings. 

Reliable sources said the CDs were shot on the sly over a period of time by a person who worked with the family. While the contents are still secret, the family got wind of it and castigated the person, who attempted suicide, but is now out of danger. He has reportedly passed on the CDs to others.

There is unconfirmed information about the contents and the identities of those involved, and also that it contains potentially dangerous dialogues and details of transactions recorded over a considerable period of time. “There is a CD and it will soon become public,” was all Vishwanath said when questioned. “It contains something.” There are similar cryptic comments from other leaders too. 

Yatnal said, “This has proven that there is a quota in the ministry not only for caste and regional equations, but also for CDs. Two of those who spoke about it have become ministers and one has become political secretary.” He refused to divulge the names of the beneficiaries.

The identity of the men and women in it is being spoken about openly, and there is a fair degree of uniformity too. The Chief Minister, meanwhile, has neither hit back at Yatnal and Vishwanath, nor offered any explanation, though he has said that a probe can be set up into the mystery CDs. 

CD politics
Political observers say that this is not the first time a CD has come to haunt Yediyurappa. About 18 months ago, a CD containing his conversation with JDS MLA Nagangouda Kandakur’s son Sharangouda Patil Kandakur had surfaced, in which he had offered them money to switch to the BJP. In 2017, ministers in the then Siddaramaiah government had put out a CD, purportedly containing a conversation clip between Yediyurappa and late Union Minister Ananth Kumar, about a fake bribe.