Anantkumar Hegde alleged a road accident in Karnataka was an attempt to kill him. (File)
In a series of tweets on Tuesday night, Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde
alleged that an attempt had been made on his life and a truck that tried to hit his car in Karnataka had ended up ramming his escort car. He urged the police to investigate what he called "a bigger nexus".
He even called a press conference. That was abruptly cancelled, no reasons given.
Turns out, the truck's owner is a BJP supporter and the brother of a local party leader. The driver, say the police, was transporting food items and was talking on the phone when he allegedly missed a turn and tried to take another turn from the wrong side.
The truck driver was arrested the same night from the Haveri district, where the incident took place around 11.30 pm.
Anantkumar Hegde said the truck had been driven in the wrong direction. (File)
"A deliberate attempt on my life seems to have been executed just now. A truck on the national highway, near Halageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district, tried to hit my vehicle. Since my vehicle was in top speed, it escaped the hit," he tweeted.
He also posted a photo of the truck driver, noting that he was not drunk when he came at Mr Hegde's convoy at top speed.
It was an incident tailormade for election season sparring. Unfortunately for the minister, who is familiar to controversies, this one was still-born.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's posts on Mr Hegde were less than charitable. "Minor accident" is what he threw at the firebrand minister.State home minister Ramalinga Reddy said the way Mr Hegde had "jumped to a conclusion smacked of political opportunism".