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On fresh summons, DK Shivakumar says BJP needs to understand ED's limitations
In a tweet, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar said political battles must be fought on a similar battlefield and misuse of central agencies to harass opponents will receive a befitting reply for voters.
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he was summoned again by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. Shivakumar appeared before the ED during the day and later told reporters that he had agreed to submit documents that were sought from him in connection with a probe related to Young India Private Limited.
In a tweet, Shivakumar said political battles must be fought on a similar battlefield and misuse of central agencies to harass opponents will receive a befitting reply for voters.
“The misuse of agencies by BJP to harass and intimidate political opponents will get a befitting reply from the people of Karnataka in May 2023,” Shivakumar said, adding the saffron party must understand that agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cannot address issues of unemployment and price rise.
The Karnataka Congress president and his MP brother DK Suresh were issued fresh summons on Thursday and asked to appear before the ED a day later. Earlier, they had been summoned on September 23.
The duo had requested the ED to give them some time given the Congress' ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. The request was rejected.
"I had requested time to appear which was denied. I asked for time as Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through Karnataka and I have some responsibilities there," Shivakumar told news agency ANI.
He said the BJP-led Union government is misusing the agencies to harass him after seeing the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
In May, this year, the ED filed a charge sheet against Shivakumar and others in the money laundering case.
The case was registered by the agency based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax (I-T) department. The I-T department, during the initial probe, had allegedly found unaccounted and misreported wealth linked to Shivakumar.
In September 2019, the ED arrested Shivakumar and he was granted bail by the Delhi high court the next month.
In August this year, a special CBI court granted bail to four accused in the case. Shivakumar has called the charges against him baseless and politically motivated.
(With agency inputs)
