The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Delhi, naming Water Resources Minister and Congress strongman D.K. Shivakumar, has further muddied the water amidst the political crisis threatening stability of the government.
Shortly after the news of the case against him broke, Mr. Shivakumar en route to his hometown Kanakapura took ill, vomiting several times. His brother and Bengaluru (Rural) MP D.K. Suresh said Mr. Shivakumar suffered from food poisoning and fell unconscious for a short while. “He was treated at home in Kanakapura, given saline and has recovered slightly. He reached his Bengaluru residence in the evening and doctors have advised him rest for two days,” he said.
“A case need not lead to an arrest immediately. We will take up a legal battle in the case. As we had said before, this is part of a campaign by the BJP to which we will not succumb,” said Mr. Suresh.
Sources said the ED may move for arrest or summon Mr. Shivakumar to Delhi for questioning. Mr. Shivakumar is expected to move for an anticipatory bail soon.
Expectedly, the Congress alleged political vendetta by the BJP-led Union government, while BJP distanced itself from the ED case and maintained that law has taken its course.
KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said BJP had been targeting Mr. Shivakumar for a long time by misusing Central agencies like IT, CBI and ED and the case now was only a continuation. He expressed confidence that Mr. Shivakumar will be victorious in the legal battle.
Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said: “We don’t object to whatever they (ED) are doing within the framework of law. But we are only concerned about why they are repeatedly harassing him (Mr. Shivakumar). Everybody suspects that there is something else to this kind of harassment, may be political or may be something else.”
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was in Bengaluru on Tuesday, said making allegations that BJP was using Central agencies against the Congress leaders was not good. His statement came after reporters pointed out that Congress leaders were repeatedly stating that the BJP was using these agencies, and in the light of a case filed against Mr. Shivakumar.
BJP State general secretary N. Ravi Kumar said the law had finally caught up with Mr. Shivakumar and that he will have to resign from the Cabinet if arrested.
