ED Raids Meant to Spilt Congress in Karnataka, says Kharge

KALABURAGI (KARNATAKA):
Congress national President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids were intended to split the party in the state.

He said this while taking objections to the ED raids at locations linked to four Congress leaders — one MP and three MLAs — and others in the Maharshi Valmiki Tribal Welfare Board scam case.

Speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi, Kharge said, “The ED officials know the reason behind the raids against the Congress leaders. The ED raids are nothing new. The money from all parties was seized during election times, but no one knows where that seized money went.”

Kharge further said that Congress MLAs are being targeted, and the Enforcement Directorate officials have had a grudge against the party from the beginning. He suggested that the objective behind these ED raids and harassment might be to split the Congress, but he asserted that such a move is impossible.

“The raids are currently conducted over the allegation of utilising government funds in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. This is not tenable,” he stated.

Reacting to the development, Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, who was in Delhi, said he learned about the ED raids from the media.

“According to me, there is no connection between the Congress leaders and the scam. The media reported that one of the personal secretaries carried a note from one of the leaders. Our ministers and legislators are not involved in this,” he stated.

“They have not distributed money to voters, and no money was used in the election. The officers have informed me that about 90 per cent of the misused money has been recovered from the responsible officers. There is no connection between our legislators, MP, and this scam,” he reiterated.

Reacting to the ED raids, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Chikkaballapura, “Let the action be initiated against whoever is guilty. I will not support the guilty in this regard. The probe is being conducted and let the truth come out,” he stated.

Basavaraj Rayareddy, the Economic Advisor of CM Siddaramaiah, reacted in Delhi, saying, “It is not correct to target only the Congress leaders. The probe is being conducted by the state government. The raids are conducted to instil fear among the Congress leaders and representatives of the people. The BJP is carrying out politics of hatred these days,” he said.

Congress MLC B.K. Hariprasad said the BJP has reduced the ED into its tool to tackle political opponents.

The ED was conducting raids at locations linked to four Congress leaders and others in connection with the Maharshi Valmiki Tribal Welfare Board scam in Ballary district and Bengaluru.

A team of 60 officers attached to the ED were conducting simultaneous raids in eight locations, five in Ballary and three in Bengaluru city, since early this morning, sources stated.

According to ED sources, raids are currently underway at the residences and offices of Congress Ballary MP E. Tukaram and Congress MLAs Na. Ra. Bharath Reddy, J.N. Ganesh aka Kampli Ganesh and N. T. Srinivas.

Sources further stated that raids are also being conducted at the Bengaluru office of former Minister and Congress MLA Nagendra.

The residence of Govardhan, the personal assistant of Ballary Congress MLA and former Minister B. Nagendra, is also being raided.