Bengaluru, Oct 23: Former Prime Minister H DDeve Gowda and ex-Chief Ministers H D Kumaraswamy andSiddaramaiah welcomed the Delhi HighCourt order on Wednesday granting bail to Congress leader D K Shivakumar in a money laundering case, filed by the Enforcement Directorate.
As the news about Shivakumar getting bail broke, his supporters and Congress workers celebrated by bursting crackers and distributing sweets in Ramanagara, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Kanakapura, Mandya and near his Bengaluru residence.
"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar has increased common man's trust in country's judicial system. I welcome the court's decision," Gowda tweeted.
Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA, was arrested by the EDon September 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"Getting bail from Delhi high court is happy news," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Bagalkote.
He alleged that Shivakumar was being politically targeted.
"...let them (ED) investigate, but sending to jail duringinvestigation is not right. On proving to be guilty one can besent to jail, but sending while the investigation is still onis not right. Vengeance politics is not right..," he added.
The 57-year-old Shivakumar is under judicial custody and presently lodged in Tihar jail.
Both the Congress and Shivakumar have claimed he was beingtargeted by the BJP-led government at the Centre by "misusing" investigating agencies.
"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar is a matter of happiness. On Monday I had met Shivakumar and tried to boost his courage, and expressed hope about him getting bail," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
The JD(S) leader who met Shivakumar at Tihar jail on Monday had said that the Congress leader was "bold" to fight "vengeance politics".
Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy, both Vokkaliga strong men, have been bitter political opponents in the old Mysuru region,until they came together for the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government, after 2018 assembly polls.
Shivakumar was a key minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet and played a major rule in the stability of the coalition government until it collapsed in July, following resignation of several MLAs of the two parties, eventually leading to installation of the BJP government.
His arrest had lead to widespread protests, especially in Ramanagara, Bengaluru rural, Mandya and other parts of old Mysuru region.
It had even taken a caste colour with thousands of people belonging to the Vokkaliga community taking out a rally recently in Bengaluru protesting the arrest and expressing solidarity with him.
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Adelaide (PTI): India skipper Rohit Sharma said he will bat "somewhere in the middle-order" in the day/night Test against Australia starting here on Friday, allowing K L Rahul to continue in the opening slot.
Rahul looked solid with scores of 26 and 77 as he and centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal combined for a 201-run opening stand during the second innings of the first Test in Perth, which India won by 295 runs.
"He (Rahul) will open the innings. I will play somewhere in the middle," Rohit told reporters on the eve of the second Test.
Rohit is returning to the side after a short paternity break for the birth of his son. The skipper said that continuity wouldbe beneficial for the team.
"We want result, we want success. Those two guys at the top they batted brilliantly in Perth. I was watching from home. Rahul was brilliant to watch. He deserves that place at this point in time."
"There is no need to change that now, may be things will be different in future. Personally not easy for me (to move down) but for the team it made a lot of sense," said Rohit adding that he will bat somewhere in the middle.
Rahul, who spoke to the media on Wednesday, had said that he would have been comfortable batting at any position as he has long overcome the "mental challenges" of being a floater in the line-up.