Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday stirred a fresh political storm, alleging that a senior Congress leader in Karnataka was responsible for home minister G Parameshwara’s recent troubles with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has launched a probe into a gold smuggling case linked to institutions associated with Parameshwara.
Without naming names, Kumaraswamy hinted that Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was the source of the information that triggered the investigation. “It was this minister who provided information about the actress Ranya Rao bringing in the gold,” he claimed during a press conference in New Delhi.
The Union Minister further alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is fully aware of the internal sabotage that led to Parameshwara facing scrutiny from central agencies. According to him, the issues stemmed from Parameshwara’s attempts to assert his leadership within the party. “Parameshwara had tried to organise a Dalit convention to indicate his readiness to become the next Chief Minister. In retaliation, a Congress leader who did not like Parameshwara’s move ensured that he got into trouble. Doesn’t Chief Minister Siddaramaiah know all this?” Kumaraswamy asked.
The Janata Dal (Secular) leader turned Union Minister asserted that the tip-off to the ED originated from within the Congress itself. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has the intelligence wing at his disposal. He knows everything,” he added. Despite Congress leaders like Randeep Singh Surjewala and MLC B.K. Hariprasad, blaming the central government for targeting Parameshwara, Kumaraswamy insisted that an “influential leader within the Karnataka Congress unit” was behind the ED action.
{{/usCountry}}The Janata Dal (Secular) leader turned Union Minister asserted that the tip-off to the ED originated from within the Congress itself. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has the intelligence wing at his disposal. He knows everything,” he added. Despite Congress leaders like Randeep Singh Surjewala and MLC B.K. Hariprasad, blaming the central government for targeting Parameshwara, Kumaraswamy insisted that an “influential leader within the Karnataka Congress unit” was behind the ED action.
{{/usCountry}}Raising personal accusations, Kumaraswamy said that the Congress-led government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to target the land he bought four decades ago. “They won’t remain in power forever. A change is coming, and I am confident about that,” he said. He accused Congress leaders of land encroachments, adding, “Fifty per cent of their lands are government properties. Who encroached upon Dalit land in Shantinagar?”
Responding strongly to the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar lashed out at Kumaraswamy during a media interaction in Kolhar, Vijayapura district. “Kumaraswamy is making such baseless allegations — he must be suffering from some mental issue,” Shivakumar said, adding, “Lie has another name — Kumaraswamy.”