Senior Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who was arrested on Tuesday evening as part of an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged money laundering case, took to Twitter to congratulate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for succeeding in arresting him.
DK Shivakumar Arrest
DK Shivakumar said in a tweet, “I congratulate my BJP friends for finally being successful in their mission of arresting me. The IT and ED cases against me are politically motivated and I am a victim of BJP’s politics of vengeance and vendetta.”
The 57-year-old Congress leader also assured the workers of the party and his supporters that he had not done anything illegal. He said, “I appeal to my party cadre, supporters and well-wishers to not be disheartened as I have done nothing illegal. I have full faith in God & in our country’s Judiciary and am very confident that I will emerge victorious both legally and politically against this vendetta politics.”
Shivakumar was arrested after five days of questioning by the ED officials. The matter came into highlight after his properties were searched in August 2017, while he was hosting MLAs from Gujarat ahead of the Rajya Sabha election, amid allegations that the BJP was trying to poach them. The Income Tax department at that time recovered more than Rs. 300 crore in “undisclosed income” during the raid. The Enforcement Directorate moved in soon after.
The Income Tax department has accused Mr. Shivakumar and one of his associate of transporting a huge amount of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through ”hawala” channels with the help of three other accused.
Many political leaders took to Twitter to support. The former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy tweeted, “After days of interrogation, without allowing even a day’s break for the festival, ED now cites non-cooperation to arrest @DKShivakumar. The ruling govt is using investigation agencies to oppress those opposition leaders who they think are a threat to their interests.”
The former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party chief Siddaramaiah tweeted, “Opposition leaders are being targeted each & every day using central govt agencies. It is just an attempt to divert the attention from structural failures of @BJP4India govt & also to prevent the voices of dissent. @DKShivakumar is also a victim of their vindictive politics.”
Meanwhile, as a response to attacks by some Congress leaders BJP spokesperson S Prakash said, “Since his response was not satisfactory and there were many gaping holes in his replies the ED has decided to arrest him. It is a case of corruption and he is being arrested after two long years of investigation. So, there cannot be any political motivation behind this.”
