ED raids in Valmiki Development Corporation case unwarranted: D K Shivakumar
Tumakuru (Karnataka), Jul 10: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday termed the Enforcement Directorate raids in the Valmiki Development Corporation case as unwarranted.
The ED on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple places allegedly linked to former Karnataka Minister B Nagendra and MLA Basanagouda Daddal in connection with the illegal money transfer case in state owned corporation.
The raids were carried out in Bengaluru, Raichur and Ballari as part of the probe into the alleged unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation from its bank accounts.
This includes Rs 88.62 crore illegally credited to various accounts of some IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank, according to official sources.
ALSO READ: "Let ED do their job," says Karnataka CM on searches in Valmiki Corporation ''scam'' case
Speaking to reporters at the Nonavinakere Kadasiddeshwara mutt in the district, he said, "When the SIT set up by the State government is already investigating the case, there was no need for ED to raid in the case."
Asked about ED raids on several places including the residence of former minister Nagendra, the DCM said, "It involves huge amounts of money and hence banks have the authority to investigate the case. ED has come in even though there was no need for it to investigate."
Shivakumar said Nagendra is not at fault as he exuded confidence that he will come out clean after the investigation.
Though he endorsed action against those involved in the fraud, he underlined that similar cases had happened during the previous BJP government.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
