ED raids on Minister Jarkiholi politically motivated, CM Shivakumar could be next: Priyank Kharge

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home and Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s residences were politically motivated and part of a larger strategy to target opposition leaders.

Priyank Kharge made the remarks after meeting Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar at his residence in Bengaluru, amid the ED’s searches at multiple locations linked to Satish Jarkiholi and his associates.

He warned that the ED action against Jarkiholi could be the beginning of similar raids against other senior Congress leaders.

“The raid on Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s residence is only the beginning. You may see raids at my residence and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s residence as well. You wait and see,” Kharge said.

Kharge also alleged that more Congress leaders could be targeted as the elections approach.

“As the elections near, more leaders will be targeted — whoever they consider a threat. The BJP leadership does not have faith in the local BJP leadership. They have decided to face the elections under the leadership of the IT Department and the ED,” he remarked sarcastically.

“According to my information, 196 raids have been conducted in the last six years. Of these, charges were proved in only two cases, and there have been only two convictions. This shows how these raids are being conducted,” Kharge said.

He claimed that nearly 97 per cent of the ED raids were conducted against opposition leaders and questioned the effectiveness and purpose of such operations.

“There is no surprise in this. There is no BJP government in Karnataka, there is no leadership in the state, and there are no people participating in the BJP’s Ballari Chalo padayatra. That is why the ED has conducted these raids,” Kharge alleged.

He accused the BJP-led Union government of using central agencies to target Congress leaders and said the party would not be intimidated by such actions.

“To support them, they are targeting our party and the leaders. We will not get scared or bend down because of this. The law and the Constitution are on our side. We will take up the agitation,” Kharge said.

Calling the operation a “Centre-sponsored ED raid”, Kharge alleged that there was no truth in the case against Jarkiholi. He said the Income Tax Department and ED were not under the control of the state government.

“Let them conduct raids. IT and ED are not in our control. They have been turned into the ‘caged parrots’ of the Central government. As I said, the statistics speak for themselves — 196 raids and only two convictions. Who will answer this question?” he asked.

Kharge demanded answers from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the number of ED raids and convictions.

IANS