Bengaluru, May 22 (Reporter) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday categorically denied allegations of phone tapping made by JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy. Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah asserted that he has never engaged in such dirty activities throughout his political career and assured that he would not do so in the future. On Monday, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy claimed that 40 phones, including his own and those of his family members and supporters, were being tapped. He said that these actions were part of a political conspiracy against him. Rejecting the allegations as baseless, Siddaramaiah accused Kumaraswamy of fabricating the claims to divert attention from sexual abuse cases involving his nephew and MP Prajwal Revanna. "In my political career, whether currently or during my previous tenure as Chief Minister, I have never engaged in the unethical practice of phone tapping. I have not done it before and I will not do it in the future," he asserted. "He is making these allegations to divert attention from the Prajwal Revanna case. Kumaraswamy is lying," the Chief Minister added. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara also dismissed Kumaraswamy’s allegations. In a related development, BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, demanded a CBI probe into the phone-tapping claims, calling for a thorough investigation. During the same press interaction, Siddaramaiah responded to an unrelated question about the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He mentioned Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress President, had invited all ministers to a dinner meeting later in the day to discuss election strategies...////...