Raids echo in Parl, Oppn disrupts proceedings
BENGALURU, Aug 2:
The Income Tax Department today conducted searches at 64 locations and properties linked to Karnataka Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, who was overseeing the stay of 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat at a resort near here, in connection with a tax evasion case.
I-T officials said about Rs 10 crore cash has been recovered during the raids at various properties linked to the Minister, who was taken to his house in Bengaluru from the resort by the taxman early today.
A “good amount” of jewellery has also been recovered from a teacher’s locker in a college here.
The locker is in the name of a relative of Shivakumar, they said.
About half-a-dozen note-counting machines have also been brought at two locations in Safdarjung Enclave in Delhi and in Hasan and Mysuru in Karnataka to count the cash.
While about Rs 7.9 crore cash has been recovered from Delhi, about Rs 2.23 crore has been found at locations in the southern state.
Officials privy to the action said the department is investigating Shivakumar in a case of alleged tax evasion and huge undisclosed investments in real estate and other sectors.
Certain investments linked to him in Singapore and few other foreign locations are also under the scanner of the department, they said.
Some shell firms and their operatives allegedly linked to this case are also being probed, they added.
They said the I-T sleuths reached the Eagleton resort near here to question the minister, who was staying at the resort for the night after arriving late night to the Karnataka capital from Delhi.
Shivakumar, who was in charge of the 44 MLAs lodged there to prevent the BJP from allegedly “poaching” them, was at the resort when the search took place, the I-T officials said.
Meanwhile, the Income Tax raids on a Karnataka minister today had its echo in Parliament where the protesting Congress members disrupted the proceedings even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley insisted that the searches had no connection with the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat.
The Congress members vociferously raised the issue in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, forcing four adjournments of the Upper House before the final one for the day at 2.45 pm.
In the Lok Sabha, the Congress members staged a walkout.
Jaitley, who spoke on the issue in both the Houses, said that no search operation was conducted at the resort in Karnataka where Gujarat Congress MLAs are staying.
He said only the minister, who had “parked himself” at the resort, was picked up from there for questioning.
As the Congress members charged the government with using investigating agencies like CBI, ED and IT to target their party and leaders, Jaitley said, “whether it is a use or abuse, it depends on recovery (from the raids).”
Maintaining that the searches were being conducted at 39 other places and “not at this resort”, the finance minister said the raids “should not be linked to the Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat” as was alleged by the Congress members.
As soon as Rajya Sabha met for the day, Congress leader Anand Sharma raised the issue, alleging that an attempt was being made to “derail and hijack” the elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the raids were “targetted”.
“Since morning they (ED and IT) have started the raids,” Sharma said and questioned the timing and place of the raids.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the elections to the Rajya Sabha should be held without fear in a free and fair manner but “all these three things are not happening with regard to Gujarat.
He alleged that Congress MLAs of Gujarat were being “kidnapped” and that “This is against democracy.”
Azad also asked why the raids on the minister was “taking place today and not a month later or before.”
Responding to them, Jaitley said the properties of a “particular” minister of Karnataka was searched.
“In that resort where your MLAs are staying, no search has taken place, no MLA has been searched. A particular individual was to be searched. He has gone and parked himself in that resort.
“So the authorities, because they had to confront him with the recovery, they had gone to get him to his residence so that he could be adequately questioned by the authorities,” the finance minister said, adding that the minister has been taken to his residence from the resort.
Jaitley also said the resort was not an area where the Karnataka minister can get “immunity from the law”.
Dissatisfied with Jaitley’s remarks, Congress members trooped into the well of Rajya Sabha and started shouting slogans. The House was adjourned for 10 minutes. Later the House took up Zero Hour mentions.
However, Congress members again started raising slogans during the Question Hour. (PTI)
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