{"id":23143,"date":"2017-08-02T17:30:39","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=23143"},"modified":"2017-08-02T17:33:39","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T12:03:39","slug":"t-raids-karnataka-minister-dk-shivakumar-congress-creates-furore-parliament-calls-unprecedented-witch-hunt-bjp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/india-news\/t-raids-karnataka-minister-dk-shivakumar-congress-creates-furore-parliament-calls-unprecedented-witch-hunt-bjp\/","title":{"rendered":"I-T raids Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar, Congress creates furore in Parliament; calls it \u201cunprecedented witch-hunt\u201d by BJP"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Shivakumar and his brother are hosting 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat at a resort in Bengaluru to guard against BJP\u2019s alleged attempts of horse-trading ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls due on August 8<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The Income Tax department, on Wednesday morning, conducted raids at Karnataka’s Energy Minister DK Shivakumar’s houses and at the Eagleton Golf resort in Bengaluru where 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat have been lodged for nearly a week in the party\u2019s bid to prevent any of them from being wooed to cross-vote or defect to the BJP ahead of the crucial Rajya Sabha election on August 8. <\/span><\/p>\n The raids immediately triggered a political storm, with Congress MPs creating an uproar in both houses of Parliament, forcing multiple adjournments.<\/span><\/p>\n Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, the party\u2019s RS candidate from Gujarat and Congress president Sonia Gandhi\u2019s political advisor who is staring at an imminent defeat owing to recent defections by his party\u2019s MLAs in the state to the BJP, described the raids as an \u201cunprecedented witch-hunt\u201d by the BJP to win one seat.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]In the Rajya Sabha, as the Congress mounted an aggressive protest against the Centre\u2019s alleged attempt at using the I-T raids as a tool of \u201cpolitical intimidation\u201d, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley<\/strong><\/a> presented the government\u2019s defence against the charges, terming them as baseless and unfounded.<\/span><\/p>\n Jaitley denied that the resort where the Congress MLAs were staying was raided and insisted: \u201cPlease do not connect these raids with any election.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe person who was being raided (DK Shivakumar) was in a resort instead of staying at his home where the raids were actually being conducted. Now, a person whose home is being raided has to be consulted and questioned. That is why I-T department authorities went to the resort. They wanted to bring him back home. When the I-T officials reached the resort, they found that he was trying to tear up some documents. Those torn papers and documents were recovered and the individual has been taken to his residence and is being interrogated,\u201d Jaitley informed Rajya Sabha.<\/span><\/p>\n The Congress, however, refused to buy Jaitley\u2019s arguments. <\/span><\/p>\n Amid slogans of \u2018Loktantra ki hatya nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi\u2019 by his party\u2019s MPs, Congress leader Anand Sharma said: \u201cThis is a targeted timing as the minister and his cousin are facilitating the stay of the Congress leaders\u2026this can\u2019t be a co-incidence. It has become a brazen trend to use state power and agencies (for political ends), whether it is the I-T department or the CBI.\u201d Sharma\u2019s colleague and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad<\/strong><\/a> added: \u201cIf this raid is only on a person, then you could have done it a month before, or a month after.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n