Cong shocker to BJP: ACB told to reopen cases against BSY, Reddy

On the pretext of waging a war against corruption, BJP and Congress indulge in revenge politics Now Congress wants to conduct similar raids on BJP leaders in State Siddaramaiah has asked the ACB to reopen all cases filed before it and Lokayukta against 17 BJP leaders, including Yeddyurappa

Notwithstanding the manner in which the BJP at the Centre has targeted one of its powerful leaders D K Shivakumar by way of IT raids, the Congress government in Karnataka has decided to give the saffron party a taste of its own medicine - revenge politics.

The government is now exploring possibilities to “fix” prominent BJP leaders in the State, including its party chief B S Yeddyurappa, who has already faced imprisonment.  

Realising that the IT sleuths were in no mood to let up their raids on properties of Shivakumar and his associates, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened an emergency meeting of Anti Corruption Bureau officials on Thursday.

Siddaramaiah has directed the ACB to reopen all the old cases pertaining to as many as 17 BJP leaders, which were earlier investigated by the Lokayukta. While all these cases will now be transferred to the ACB, Siddaramaiah has also asked the officials to take cognisance of all the fresh complaints lodged with both the Lokayukta and the ACB.

The idea is to vet all these cases and complaints and take up only those with merit. While Yeddyurappa will be the prime focus of this screening process, leaders like Shobha Karandlaje, C T Ravi, P C Mohan, Gali Janardhan Reddy, B Sreeramulu, R Ashoka and Katta Subramanya Naidu will come under the scanner once again. 

The swoop down on Shivakumar has raised a political storm, with the Congress crying foul over the timing of the raids. The Congress, which has accused the agency of conducting the searches on the behest of the NDA government, has said that the BJP has specifically targeted Shivakumar, who was “protecting” the Gujarat MLAs who have been holed up in a resort in Bengaluru from last week. 

On Tuesday, the raids led to a war of words between the leaders of the two national parties in the Parliament and outside. Not wanting to go down without a fight, the Congress, which is determined to get its trusted lieutenant Ahmed Patel elected to the Rajya Sabha again, has given the Karnataka Congress the reins to take on the BJP in full force. Following the go ahead by the party high command, Siddaramaiah held closed door meetings with KPCC president G Parameshwara, before entrusting the ACB with the new task.

Siddaramaiah has asked the ACB to tread carefully while prioritising the cases and the complaints, which will be pursued vigorously. He has made it clear to the ACB that it cannot afford any slip ups, as the party is already on a downward spiral. 

As the IT raids on Shivakumar are said to be rooted in the contents uncovered in Congress MLC Govindaraj’s diary, the Congress is now looking at targeting BJP leaders who are involved in a similar case.

Sources said that the Chief Minister has asked the ACB to take up the complaint filed by the KPCC legal cell on priority, which details the alleged conversation between Yeddyurappa and Union Minister Ananth Kumar on the kickback to be paid to the BJP high command.