Bengaluru, Sep 9 (IANS): Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Wednesday hit out at the Congress-led state government over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s residences and properties, accusing the ruling party of unnecessarily giving a political colour to the searches.
State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former State BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel said the ED action should be viewed in the context of the agency’s investigation and rejected allegations that the raids were “politically motivated”.
Vijayendra said the ED raids on the residences and properties of Karnataka PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi had taken place as the BJP’s “Ballari Chalo” padayatra entered its final phase, but added that the timing was coincidental.
Speaking about the raids, the State BJP President said the party would wait to see what information emerges from the investigation.
However, Vijayendra claimed that the Congress government in Karnataka was already facing allegations of corruption.
“Our (BJP’s) ‘Ballari Chalo’ protest march is in its final phase. This is coincidental. We will see what information comes out later. But it is a publicly debated matter that the Congress government is mired in corruption,” he said.
He alleged that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had been making tall claims about providing a corruption-free government, while several Ministers were facing corruption allegations.
“We had to undertake this protest to ensure that those facing corruption charges are dropped from the state Cabinet. Many Ministers are facing corruption charges,” Vijayendra claimed.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP MP Jagadish Shettar also reacted to the ED searches targeting Jarkiholi.
He alleged that Congress leaders had already given a political colour to the raids.
“I have always been saying that whether it is an ED or CBI raid, these agencies conduct searches based on the information they gather. The Congress ruled the country earlier and these agencies have been functioning in the same manner,” Shettar said.
Former BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel said the party had repeatedly alleged corruption in the Congress-led state government and claimed that the ongoing investigation could lead to further action against its Ministers.
“We have been saying that the Congress government is involved in corruption. It will not be a surprise if two or three Ministers are sacked by the end of our padayatra. The ED is bringing out corruption cases linked to the Congress government,” Kateel added.
Reacting to allegations that the Centre was targeting leaders from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, BJP leaders said that the ED was an independent agency and that its actions should not be linked to the social background of those being investigated.
The ED searches against Jarkiholi and his aides have added a fresh political dimension to the BJP’s campaign, with the ruling Congress accusing the Centre of using central investigative agencies to target Opposition leaders, while the BJP has said that the raids are part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities.
Karnataka Chief Minister Shivakumar on Wednesday alleged that the ED raids on Satish Jarkiholi and his aides were ‘politically motivated’ and aimed at targeting an influential Dalit leader and disrupting the state government’s 100-day celebrations.
Karnataka Home and Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge alleged that the ED raids on Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s residences were “politically motivated” and “part of a larger strategy to target opposition leaders”.
