I-T sleuths raiding Congress functionary’s house to defame me: D K Shivakumar
Kanakapura (Karnataka), Apr 24: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Income Tax sleuths were raiding the houses of Congress block presidents to defame him and to obstruct them from election campaigning.
“The IT department is conducting raids on Congress party workers deliberately in order to prevent them from election campaigning,” he said in a statement.
Seeking to know whether BJP and JD(S) candidates were not distributing money, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, asked why there were no raids on them.
The IT department is ready with a list of people to target and they are going by that, he claimed.
“They are pressurising contractors to attribute the money found from them to D K Shivakumar. They raided the house of DK Suresh’s driver and manhandled his wife and children during the raid,” the DCM alleged.
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The IT department could not find any cash in any of the raids on our party workers, Shivakumar said, adding this was a deliberate ploy to obstruct the Congress election campaign.
“They (I-T sleuths) are specifically targeting the Bengaluru Rural district fearing election loss,” he added.
Meanwhile, Congress workers staged a protest against I-T raids on Congress MP D K Suresh’s close associate here on Wednesday.
The party workers raised slogans against the BJP for the I-T raids on the house of Gangadhar, a former councilor and an associate of Congress MP D K Suresh.
They accused the BJP government at the Centre of "tying the hands" of the Congress candidate by carrying out an I-T raid on his associates.
“Gangadhar has a lot of land and is wealthy. There are a lot of wealthier people in BJP but no I-T raids are conducted on them. The I-T department is targeting associates of D K Shivakumar and D K Suresh to obstruct their campaigning,” the protesters accused.
IT raids were also carried out at the houses of Gottigere Block Congress President Sridhar, D K Suresh’s personal secretary Sujay, Chandru, Lakshman and Babu, according to sources close to Shivakumar.
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SC should take cognisance: Priyanka on Sambhal issue
New Delhi (PTI): In the wake of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Yogi Adityanath government of creating divisions while sitting in power and urged the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the matter and deliver justice.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including security and administration personnel, injured as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal clashed with police on Sunday.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The attitude of the state government regarding the sudden dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is very unfortunate. The way the administration acted in haste in such a sensitive matter without listening to the other side, without taking both the parties into confidence, shows that the government itself spoiled the atmosphere there."
The administration did not even consider it necessary to follow the necessary procedure and duty, the Congress general secretary said.
"Trying to spread discrimination, oppression and division while sitting in power is neither in the interest of the people nor in the interest of the country. The honourable Supreme Court should take cognisance of the matter and do justice," Priyanka Gandhi said.
"My appeal to the people of the state is to maintain peace in all circumstances," she asserted.
The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders till November 30 following Sunday's violence.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Moradabad) Muniraj told reporters on Monday that Naeem, Bilal and Nauman -- the three men who died in Sunday's violence -- had been buried. All three were aged about 25.
Divisional Commissioner (Moradabad) Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said on Sunday, "Shots were fired by miscreants... the PRO of the superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 security personnel were injured in the violence."
A constable also suffered a serious head injury while the deputy collector fractured his leg, he had said.
Internet services were soon suspended in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and the district administration declared a holiday in all schools for Monday.
The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Adityanath administration was squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS was guilty of "setting fire" to peace and harmony in Sambhal.
The opposition party had said the videos of direct firing on the protesters depicted the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.
