Bengaluru, Sept 20: After Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokesperson Sambit Patra accused DK Shivakumar of shipping cash “in kilos” to the Congress headquarters, the Karnataka minister on Wednesday said BJP leaders were “targeting” and “torturing” him as he stood in the way of their mission to topple the Kumaraswamy government.
“The BJP has realized I’m a stumbling block in its mission and wants me to get out of its way. Its leaders are using the I-T department and the Enforcement Directorate to frighten me. Threats don’t bog me down. I’ll work to protect the government,’’ he told reporters here.
The minister, admitted to a hospital on Tuesday for acute gastroenteritis due to food poisoning, took permission from doctors to address the media at his official residence for two hours. He returned to the hospital for a two-day rest.
DK Shivakumar junked speculation that he was in hiding fearing arrest. “I was admitted to the hospital due to food poisoning. I’m not a coward, I’m not a murderer, I’m not a rapist. I haven’t made a mistake. I haven’t received an ED notice to fear an arrest. I am a law-abiding citizen and will cooperate with the authorities. I’m ready to face any consequences, including going to jail. Even if I’m behind bars, I’ll ensure the BJP will not have its way in Karnataka,’’ he added.
The minister alleged the BJP has put I-T and ED officials on the job of coercing witnesses to give statements against his party bosses for sheer political gains.
“They have resorted to this to counter the incessant attack (by the Congress) on the government over Rafale deal and businessman Vijay Mallya’s escape from the country,’’ he alleged.
On Patra’s allegations of money-laundering, Shivakumar said the BJP leader was dragging the names of Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for political reasons. “I haven’t paid the party leaders. The BJP has created documents to show the Congress and its leaders in poor light,’’ he alleged.
During the raid, the minister alleged that I-T officials had recovered diaries that contained the names of certain BJP leaders. “Why are they not talking about it,” he asked.
Dismissing Patra’s allegations of Rs 600-crore hawala deals, Shivakumar said the I-T officials who raided 82 places in August 2017 recovered Rs 41 lakh in cash from his New Delhi flat. “I confessed to the officials it was my money. I explained to them its source. Does the ED need a year to register a case,” he asked.
Shivakumar accused the I-T officials of torturing his family, friends and well-wishers after he safe-kept Gujarat MLAs at a resort in his home district to prevent their poaching by the BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.
The minister said he will drop a bombshell on BJP leaders at an appropriate time. “BJP’s Patra spoke of diaries. Did he forget Advani and Sahara diaries,’’ he said.
Comments
Add new comment