Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar gave a cryptic response to Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy’s allegation that he had met a person allegedly involved in a sting operation at a five-star hotel in Bengaluru.

“Time will give a reply,” Mr. Shivakumar remarked when reporters in Mysuru sought his response to the Union Minister’s allegation and his question about the identity of the person.

Anti-Sir protest in Delhi

Earlier, Mr. Shivakumar said Congress MPs and legislators, including himself, would participate in a protest planned in Delhi on Monday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating a flower show organised as part of Mysuru Dasara, with democracy as its theme.

Emphasising that the right to vote was fundamental to democracy, Mr. Shivakumar alleged that concerted efforts were being made to deprive people of this right.

“The entire country has realised the threat to democracy and the need to protect the right to vote. It is not just the Congress party or the Congress government; the entire country is opposing it,” he said.

More than 150 former IAS officers had also expressed support for the ongoing movement against the SIR, he said.

Mr. Shivakumar also criticised the internet shutdown and other restrictions imposed by the Delhi administration, alleging that they were intended to disrupt protests against the electoral roll revision.