The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday raided the residences of some people allegedly close to Congress strongman DK Shivakumar at five places in Bengaluru, Kanakapura and Ramanagara on charges of illegally exchanging demonetised currency notes.
The CBI said the raids were carried out on charges that Corporation Bank chief manager B Prakash at Ramanagara, in connivance with ‘unknown others’, had illegally exchanged Rs 10 lakh of scrapped currency notices with new ones on November 14, 2016.
Prakash and others are also accused of trying to cover up this act by fabricating requisition slips. “Searches are being conducted at five places in Bengaluru, Kanakapura and Ramanagara which includes Election Cell, Kanakapura and an office at Ramanagara and three residences of the election cell in-charge Shivananda, election cell clerk Nanjappa and one Padmanabaiah who had allegedly exchanged the SBN notes in the bank,” the CBI said in a press release.
The pre dawn swoop just before the poll results across the country has sent resentments in the congress circles. DK Shivakumar and his brother an MP DK Suresh had called an urgent press conference in the morning on Thursday and accused BJP, Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi of misusing CBI targeting them. They also alleged it was vindictive politics.
Suresh said “Main targets are me and my brother DKS and nobody else. By targeting others, they are trying to reach us. I have no idea who these 11 people are.”
He said he was ready for legal recourse against the “vindictive action”. “We have been targeted by BJP, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi. They have given a clear instruction to the government of India officials, like CBI, I-T and ED. Some sources told us that they all had a meeting three-four weeks ago. Through some messengers we got the information,” Suresh said.
The CBI stated that a case against Prakash and officials of Corporation Bank and others had been registered on April 7, 2017. Suresh said search warrants had been issued by a special CBI court against 11 people, including him, but expressed ignorance about the charges. He alleged the central government was targeting him and his brother Shivakumar.
Vokkaliga strongman DK Shivakumar who played a key role in recent political drama in the state of keeping the MlAs of Congress and JD(S) together in resorts and posh hotels against poaching to form an alliance to keep the BJP away from power said he won’t succumb to any pressure and knows how to play politics. “If somebody thinks that they can force me and my family to bend before them by threatening us, we are not the ones who will succumb to their pressure. We are ready for any challenge. We had inkling about these problems,” said Shivakumar.
“Officials under the BJP rule should not forget this phase is not going to be permanent and nobody is immortal. Neither is anybody going to remain in power forever, nor will your powers be permanent. You have been given powers for a while. So do not act as a puppet in somebody’s hand to trouble others,” said Shivakumar. Meanwhile, former chief minister Siddaramaiah condemned the CBI raids, alleging that the Centre had been targeting Congress leaders but it will not succeed.
DK Shivakumar claimed “The CBI has applied for a search warrant and at 11 am it will be granted. The warrant is against me, my brother and nine other associates.”
“The BJP central leadership has been hounding my brother and I to join their party. We have never been scared of their threats and never will be. We will fight this legally. The central agencies must keep in mind that they should not give into political pressure,” DK Shivakumar added.
He also said that he won't be intimidated by the threat and will fight the issue legally. “We are not scared of any of these threats. There is no way they can make us bow down to their demands. Once we came into the political field, we have also been smart enough to know what they will throw at us and how to handle it,” he said.