There was no need for ED probe into Valmiki Corporation irregularities, says Deputy CM Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said there was no need for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into alleged financial irregularities in a state-run corporation, as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government was already on the job.
Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, was reacting to a question on the agency taking former Minister B Nagendra into custody, as part of a money-laundering probe linked to the irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited.
"We (state govt) are doing an inquiry (through SIT), there was no need for it (ED probe), but they are doing it. I will try to know about it and then speak on it," Shivakumar told reporters here.
Nagendra quit as Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister on June 6 in the wake of the alleged irregularities.
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The ED carried out searches at several premises, including those linked to Nagendra and ruling Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal, who is Chairman of the Corporation, in the last two days.
The agency covered around 20 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra as part of a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
Reacting to BJP's protest in Mysuru over alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority, which involves plots given to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, Shivakumar said: "In Mysuru, they (BJP) are doing politics, there is no truth in it (allegations). When time comes, we will respond to it."
Asserting that there is "no scam", he said: "whatever has been done, was done during the BJP tenure; there is nothing. After winning the election (Lok Sabha), they want to see that Karnataka is in a bad shape. Nothing is there, everything is perfect. We will face all this politically."
Claiming that a conspiracy is being hatched against him out of heartburn as he belongs to a backward class community and has become the Chief Minister for the second time, Siddaramaiah had, while denying the charges on Thursday, asserted that he won't fear such moves by the BJP.
Responding to a question on Siddaramaiah's claims that he was being targeted as he was from backward classes, Shivakumar said: "Definitely, definitely...."
"Only one big state is there (with Congress), so they want to demoralise the state, we won't allow it," Shivakumar said.
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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.
