It is vindictive, says DK Shivakumar on Karnataka govt’s sanction to CBI
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar’s statement against the Karnataka government coincided with the local election officials clearing his nomination papers from the Kanakapura seat
BENGALURU: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka for giving sanction to prosecute him in a disproportionate assets case, saying it was a “vindictive” move.
“The vindictive BJP government has given permission for a CBI inquiry,” Shivakumar told reporters, adding that the Lokayukta or the state’s anti-corruption bureau could have investigated the matter.
“In order to torture me, the government has recommended it to the CBI. So, I have appealed to the court,” he said.
The Karnataka high court on Thursday dismissed Shivakumar’s petition that challenged the government’s decision to grant the prosecution sanction. Shivakumar said the government did not take the assembly speaker’s consent before granting the sanction nor did it take note of the advocate general’s reported view that this was not a fit case for a CBI probe.
Shivakumar said he will appeal to the division bench of the high court. “I will approach the high courts; I will fight till the last breath. I believe in a court of law. I still believe they have done an injustice. Everything is transparent,” he said.
Shivakumar said that he had been served notices by the Income Tax department and accused the central agencies of “harassing” him though his paperwork was in order. “I believe in people’s court, they (BJP) are trying to use various agencies...I am very cautious on every move, I’m also a political animal,” he added
In the Karnataka high court where he challenged the CBI probe, the central agency said the accused could not specify which agency should conduct the investigation against him. CBI also claimed that 90% of its investigation against Shivakumar was complete, and also submitted a status report to the court.
