New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar rejected allegations of a Rs 444-crore tender scam involving Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, calling the complaint against him "false".

"Yathindra Siddaramaiah became a minister barely a couple of months ago; how could he commit irregularities so quickly? All those allegations are false," Shivakumar said while speaking to reporters in Delhi on Tuesday.

The statement comes after BJP leader NR Ramesh alleged irregularities in the Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN) 3.0 tender process and claimed that the Rs 444-crore contract was manipulated to favour a particular company.

Ramesh alleged that the tender, issued under the state's Centre for e-Governance, was structured w...