Big conspiracy going on to finish me politically, says Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Jan 1: With the Central Bureau of Investigation serving notice to Kerala-based Jaihind Communications Pvt Ltd channel headed by him, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday alleged that a big conspiracy is going on to finish him politically.
The central agency issued a notice to the firm on Sunday seeking details of the investments made in the channel by Shivakumar in connection with a disproportionate assets case against the Congress leader.
The Bengaluru unit of the agency, which is probing the case against Shivakumar, had asked the managing director of Jaihind Communications Pvt. Ltd. to appear before it on January 11, 2024, along with all the requisite documents sought by the investigation officer.
Reacting to the latest development, the Deputy CM said if the CBI wants to arrest him, then let them do so as he is prepared for it.
Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress unit president, wondered how the CBI was issuing notices against his firm though it had all the documents with it.
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"I don't know how they are issuing notices. They have all the documents with them. It's not because they don't have any documents. There are big people to harass me. I know it all. It's not that I am unaware of it. Let them do whatever they want to finish me politically," Shivakumar, who is an MLA from Kanakapura, told reporters here.
"There is a big conspiracy going on. Some BJP leaders had said earlier that they would send me to jail. They have conveyed their message to the department concerned. I have asked those who have spoken about me to come for discussion. There is a big plot being hatched," he said.
Stating that he has not done anything wrong, and he will get justice, Shivakumar said let the CBI conduct any inquiry against him.
To a question whether he had got the notice, he said his firm had got it.
"My partnership firm of which I am the chief, has been served notice. They are asking my children, my wife and relatives. The CBI is asking our family members and those from our village who are directors of the society," Shivakumar explained.
When asked whether he got individual notice, he said the CBI will first finish their investigation at the firm level and then come after him.
Shivakumar said the state government had handed over the matter to Lokayukta though he did not request or insist on it.
The government has withdrawn the permission granted to the CBI to prosecute cases against him and handed over the case to the Lokayukta.
He said that he would answer the Lokayukta whenever it asks for it.
"Earlier the case was given to the CBI. The investigation has not been completed yet. They wanted cross-examination, which they haven't done. Now, based on their notice, (it seems) they did not do even 10 per cent of the investigation, but they told the court that 90 per cent of the inquiry is over. I don't know the basis behind their claim," Shivakumar pointed out.
To a question about whether he would challenge the notice, he said the CBI is summoning him but "there is no occasion for me to go there."
"They are asking me to challenge their notice. If they want to see me behind bars, then let them do it. I have no problem. I am ready for it," he said.
Shivakumar who is accused in a money laundering case, had spent 51 days in Tihar Jail in 2019.
Recently, the Karnataka government withdrew the permission granted to the CBI to probe cases against Shivakumar, saying that it was not in accordance with law'.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
