Karnataka Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna triggered a political storm last week by claiming in the Assembly that 48 legislators from the ruling and Opposition parties were honey-trapped.

Karnataka Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna petitioned Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday regarding alleged attempts to honey-trap him and said that he did not possess documents to substantiate allegations he made in the Assembly last week.

Responding to media queries ahead of his meeting with the home minister, Rajanna said he had talked about submitting evidence in connection with the case believing that CCTV footage of those visiting his official residence in Bengaluru was available.

“When I talked about evidence, I was thinking that CCTV footage (of those trying to honey-trap him) would be available. But CCTV cameras are not installed. It is not installed at the residence of any minister,” Rajanna told reporters.

The minister, who triggered a political storm last week by claiming that 48 legislators from the ruling and Opposition parties in Karnataka were honey-trapped, said the home minister had collected information about such attempts from the police. The home minister, in consultation with the chief minister, “will decide whether to institute a probe by a Special Investigation Team or whether it will be conducted by a DG-IGP level official”, he said.

Rajanna said evidence against those involved in the honey trap would emerge only after an investigation. “Before that, saying anything amounts to speculation. It is not right to speculate,” Rajanna said, adding that he would observe how the government would take action based on his petition. “I expect such activities to stop. It should not be done against anyone. No one should attempt such misadventure in the future.”

“Based on the complaint, we will discuss the next steps with legal experts,” Parameshwara told reporters, refusing to reveal the contents of his cabinet colleague’s petition.

On why the home department did not file a suo motu complaint soon after Rajanna raised the issue in the Assembly, Parameshwara explained that it could not be done unless the Speaker directed the government to take up the matter.

Earlier in the day, Rajanna said that a man visited him twice at his Bengaluru home, each time with a different woman. “In the second visit, he introduced a woman as a high court lawyer,” he said.

Rajanna said that his letter to Parameshwara detailed the entire incident and explained the reasons for the delay in filing the petition. “(Investigators) have to find out whether the two were doing it on their own or whether someone was behind them,” the minister said, adding that he could recognise the person who allegedly tried to trap him if that person was produced before him.

Responding to a question on a PIL petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI or SIT inquiry, Rajanna said he had never claimed that judges were honey-trapped. “I said that leaders from both parties (the Congress and the BJP) are trying to malign their rivals in their own parties. According to my information, such attempts are being made against vocal leaders,” he said, adding that the PIL was based on false rumours.