Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar hit out at the BJP over ED raids on minister Satish Jarkiholi, calling them politically motivated. He said the state leadership is unfazed and Jarkiholi will respond legally, alleging the BJP is misusing central agencies.
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), dismissing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches targeting Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satish Jarkiholi as politically motivated, and alleged that the BJP is misusing the agencies. Addressing the media on the coordinated central agency action raiding multiple locations, Shivakumar asserted that the state leadership is unfazed by the developments.
He said, “The ED raids against him are not something we are unaware of. ED raids have been conducted in the past as well. He is a senior minister and is involved in business and commercial activities. He has also undertaken some social service activities.” Emphasising that there was nothing to conceal, he added that the minister would legally and transparently respond to any inquiries. “There is nothing to hide. Let them conduct any investigation, and he will respond to it. Nobody needs to panic. The BJP is politically misusing the agencies.”
CM alleges misuse of agencies
Drawing parallels to previous high-profile investigative actions involving state functionaries, Shivakumar pointed to past probes involving former minister B. Nagendra, noting that investigations had run their course and that officials had previously addressed administrative lapses independently. “An ED raid was also conducted against Nagendra. The BJP has nothing in its head. Siddaramaiah himself has said that the bank officials and officers may have committed mistakes. In the past, investigating agencies have recovered the money. Nagendra voluntarily resigned,” DK Shivakumar said.
The Chief Minister also accused the central ruling party of strategically timing the latest search operations to coincide with a major political milestone. “Let the BJP hold a press conference. Now, they are targeting Priyank Kharge. They are also targeting him over the KPSC issue. The raid on Satish Jarkiholi today is politically motivated. Tomorrow marks 100 days of the government. They are using this timing to their advantage. They can conduct raids against as many of our people as they want.”
Congress leaders rally behind Jarkiholi
Karnataka Minister Santosh Lad said, “…I have known Satish Jarkiholi for quite a long time… I will stand by him like a rock. Apart from me, the entire Congress party, the entire Congress leadership, apart from that, throughout Karnataka, he has got lakhs of people who are in support of him, and this is nothing but a political vendetta… However, we have to respect the agencies; if they have got some information, they might be doing it…”
Earlier, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids were politically motivated and claimed that most such raids in recent years had targeted Opposition leaders. “The ED raids are politically motivated. In the last six years, 196 raids have been conducted, but only two cases have resulted in convictions. As many as 97% of the raids have been against Opposition leaders,” Kharge said.
“They want to conduct the next election with CBI, IT, and ED, not with the BJP leaders. These are raids sponsored by the Central Government; these agencies are nothing but ‘parrots’ being controlled by their masters,” he added.
Kharge further alleged that the BJP did not have faith in its leaders in Karnataka and claimed that central agencies were being used in the run-up to elections. “They are going to face elections under the leadership of the IT and ED. This is just the beginning. They may conduct raids against CM DK Shivakumar and me as well. Just watch,” he said.
Details of the ED search operation
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at the residences of Karnataka PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi and his daughter, Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Jarkiholi. The Enforcement Directorate is also conducting searches at the residence of the minister’s brother-in-law, Y Manjunath, among 18 places.
According to the agency, this case is not related to the alleged excise case against Manjunath but is a separate alleged money laundering case against Satish Jarkiholi. The agency began its operation based on certain inputs in close coordination with security forces, covering the premises of suspects linked to the case being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)