Shivakumar Refutes ED Probe Necessity Amidst Political Turbulence

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar stated that the Enforcement Directorate's probe into alleged financial irregularities in a state-run corporation is redundant, as a Special Investigation Team is already investigating. He also responded to BJP's allegations of corruption involving plots allotted to the Chief Minister's wife, dismissing them as politically motivated.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday declared that the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) investigation into financial irregularities within a state-run corporation is unnecessary, as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government is already on the case.

Reacting to the ED taking former Minister B Nagendra into custody over alleged money laundering linked to the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited, Shivakumar, who also heads the state Congress, maintained that the state inquiry should suffice.

'We (state government) are doing an inquiry (through SIT), there was no need for it (ED probe), but they are doing it. I will try to know about it and then speak on it,' Shivakumar told reporters.

Nagendra had resigned from his post as Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister on June 6 due to the allegations. The ED conducted searches across several locations connected to Nagendra and Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal, Chairman of the Corporation, spanning Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Concerning BJP's protests in Mysuru over the supposed fraudulent allocation of plots by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, including those allotted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, Shivakumar dismissed these claims as baseless political maneuvering.

'In Mysuru, they (BJP) are doing politics, there is no truth in it (allegations). When the time comes, we will respond to it,' he assured, insisting there was no scam and that any misconduct would have occurred under the BJP's tenure.

Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister, has claimed a conspiracy stemming from his belonging to a backward class community. Addressing these assertions, Shivakumar reaffirmed his support and commitment to counteract any such demoralizing attempts against the only Congress-governed major state.