Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, asserting that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) searches of Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satish Jarkiholi are politically driven. He claimed that the BJP is exploiting government agencies for its own ends. This allegation comes amid ongoing tensions between the ruling party and the opposition in Karnataka.
ED raids have been conducted in the past as well. He is a senior minister and is involved in business and commercial activities. He has also undertaken some social service activities. Emphasising that there was nothing to conceal, he added that the minister would legally and transparently respond to any inquiries. “There is nothing to hide. Let them conduct any investigation, and he will respond to it. Nobody needs to panic. The BJP is politically misusing the agencies. “An ED raid was also conducted against Nagendra. The BJP has nothing in its head. In the past, investigating agencies have recovered the money. I will stand by him like a rock. Apart from me, the entire Congress party, the entire Congress leadership, apart from that, throughout Karnataka, he has got lakhs of people who are in support of him, and this is nothing but a political vendetta… However, we have to respect the agencies; if they have got some information, they might be doing it…”
He said, “The ED raids against him are not something we are unaware of. Siddaramaiah himself has said that the bank officials and officers may have committed mistakes. Nagendra voluntarily resigned,” DK Shivakumar said. Karnataka Minister Santosh Lad said, “…I have known Satish Jarkiholi for quite a long time…
Drawing parallels to previous high-profile investigative actions involving state functionaries, Shivakumar pointed to past probes involving former minister B Nagendra , noting that investigations had run their course and that officials had previously addressed administrative lapses independently.
