A day before ED questioning, Cong MLA alleges ‘vindictive politics’
BENGALURU: Ahead of deposing before the Enforcement Directorate, Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkaralleged on Wednesday that the summons smack of "vindictivepolitics".
The Belagavi rural MLA has been asked to appear before the officials on September 19 in connection with the money laundering case against senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar, who has been remanded in judicial custody till October 1.
"Our national president (Sonia Gandhi), our KPCC president (Dinesh Gundu Rao) our Congress Legislative Party leader (Siddaramaiah) and all the party workers have been repeatedly saying that this is political vendetta.
I too feel this is political vendetta. Let's see what happens," Hebbalkar told reporters after meeting her lawyer in Bengaluru.
She said she was asked to appear before the ED on September 14, but sought time as she was busy with the flood relief work in her district.
Hebbalkar said: "They (ED authorities) have not said anything like 'turn witness' in the case (Shivakumar case).
They have called quite a number of people, somewhere around 184... They have also asked me to appear before them. I will come to know only tomorrow for what they summoned me."
Hebbalkar said she had sent an e-mail to the ED officials to question her in Bengaluru or Belagavi, but there was no response to it.
"It appears that I may have to go there. I am waiting for their (ED) reply to my mail," the MLA said.
The ED sources confirmed to PTI on Tuesday that the summons pertained to the Shivakumar case.
Shivakumar has been in the ED custody since his arrest on September 3 in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
He was on Tuesday remanded in judicial custody for 14 days till October 1 by a Delhi court.
The agency had earlier summoned his daughter Aisshwarya in connection with the case.
It had in September 2018 registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others.
The case was registered based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them last year before a special court here on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores of Rupees.