Senior Congress leader from Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar has arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office in New Delhi after the agency issued a summons in a money laundering case. ED had asked him to appear before it in Delhi on Friday by 1 pm. "I am law-abiding citizen, and I have legal options which I am exploring," said Shivakumar as he arrived at the office. He told reporters that he will face it "legally, politically and socially".
The ED move comes after the Karnataka High Court on Thursday dismissed Shivakumar's petition challenging the summons issued to him in the money-laundering case registered by the agency against him and a few others on the basis of an alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions case.
Earlier in the day, Shivakumar had termed the action a 'conspiracy' to defame him and his party. On whether he was feeling targeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he said "whoever has done... I wish them best... I have done my duty for the party. I'm proud to do my job. Whatever is in my fate will happen."
Shivakumar indicated that his "instrumental role" in ensuring safe stay of Gujarat Congress MLAs in a Karnataka resort during the Rajya Sabha polls in 2017, amid allegations that the BJP was trying to poach them, was the reason for the searches and subsequent I-T and ED action on him.
"When the ED summons came (earlier), I had said that this is an Income Tax case, ED has nothing to do with it, I have had no foreign transaction or was cheating the government, and have been paying taxes, there was no conspiracy involved," Shivakumar said.
Ahead of his travel to Delhi the Congress leader said that he had sought time and approached the court challenging the summons, but yesterday it dismissed his application.
Stating that he was yet to receive copy of the court order, he said, when he arrived home last night, ED officers from Delhi and Bengaluru came and issued the summons asking him to appear at 1 pm in Delhi on Friday.
"I cannot attend by 1 pm as I had family and personal commitments, but I will respect the summons and go to Delhi to appear before ED. I have all the right to use all my legal options to protect myself and respond to this conspiracy," Shivakumar said.
He also termed the "sudden scheduling" by ED "malafide", but added he believed in rule of law and will fully cooperate with it. "I have to protect myself legally and politically as this is a conspiracy to trouble me by my political and official friends. I have not committed any sin, nor committed any murder nor have taken bribe or any heinous crime like rape. I have done my business in accordance with law and with honesty," he said.
The former minister said he was ready to face the 'conspiracy' and would not runaway. "I will face it legally, politically and socially. There is no question of running away. I will respect the summons and appear," he said.
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The former Karnataka minister also questioned the I-T departments and ED's "silence" regarding "Operation Lotus", despite MLAs openly stating in the assembly that they were offered money by BJP leaders. "Is the justice different for me and them?"
Asked if he feared arrest, he said, "Why will they arrest me? what wrong have I done? They have summed me I will go... let them do whatever they want, who can stop them?"
The ED had in September last year registered the money-laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
(With PTI inputs)