The Indian National Congress (INC,) on the 4th of September, called for a statewide strike over the arrest of D.K. Shivakumar, a member of the INC, in Karnataka.
On the 3rd of September, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Shivakumar in relation to a money laundering case.
The ED case is based on allegations of the Income Tax (IT) Department. The IT Department alleged Shivakumar of transferring crores of money illegally and tax evasion. The case was registered in 2018.
Apart from Shivakumar, his associate S.K. Sharma and three others were also accused of money laundering.
However, D.K. Shivakumar denied the allegations and deemed the case is a politically motivated one.
The ED interrogated Shivakumar for 4 consecutive days since the 30th of August and finally, on the night of the 3rd of September, arrested him.
Shivakumar will be presented in a special Karnataka court, where the ED will demand Shivakumar’s custody for interrogation.
After the arrest of Shivakumar, INC activists and Shivakumar supporters started protests against the ED and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP.)
The INC workers blocked bus routes, torched buses and threw stones at them. Concerned about the violent situation in Karnataka, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) directed all the State run buses not to take the Ramanagara route in Karnataka.
Schools, offices and institutes were also shut down after the situation got worse in Ramanagara, which is one of the places where Shivakumar has a strong hold.
The State Government also tightened the security at the resident of B.S. Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the BJP offices in the State.
Shivakumar’s wellwishers and supporters criticised the BJP for misusing its power against the INC leader.
The Twitter handle of Shivakumar is also flooded with tweets, claiming the arrest as a strategy of the BJP against the INC and its leaders.
I congratulate my BJP friends for finally being successful in their mission of arresting me.
The IT and ED cases against me are politically motivated and I am a victim of BJP’s politics of vengeance and vendetta.
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) September 3, 2019
I appeal to my party cadre, supporters and well-wishers to not be disheartened as I have done nothing illegal.
I have full faith in God & in our country’s Judiciary and am very confident that I will emerge victorious both legally and politically against this vendetta politics.
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) September 3, 2019
K.C. Venugopal, the President of the INC in Karnataka, said, “The arrest of DK Shivakumar is a clear case of political vendetta by the fascist BJP government at the centre. After P. Chidambaram, yet another leader has been dubiously, vengefully and selectively targetted for standing up against the politics of horse trading and subversion of mandate practiced by the BJP.” He further added, “It is evident that the Government is desperately trying to hide its outright failure in checking the economic slowdown and financial crisis by shamelessly harassing its political opponents. I strongly condemn this politics of vengeance and harassment.”
Mallikarjun Khagre, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah and other INC leaders also criticised the BJP for harassing the opposition’s leaders to hide its economic failure.
Protests are still going on in several parts of Karnataka.
Stay tuned for further updates.
