Karnataka Minister MB Patil accused the BJP of targeting Congress leaders with ED and IT raids, alleging they are first frightened and then inducted into the party. UT Khader echoed this, claiming 98% of ED raids are on Congress leaders.

Karnataka Minister MB Patil on Monday accused the BJP of targeting Congress leaders through Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax "raids", alleging that such "raids" are mostly being conducted against leaders from the opposition parties. Patil alleged that leaders are first frightened through raids and then inducted into the BJP. He cited Maharashtra leaders late Ajit Pawar and Ashok Chavan as examples.

On the issue of Minister Satish Jarkiholi allegedly investing in South Africa, Patil said Jarkiholi had conducted a site inspection with an intention to invest but had not made any investment so far. “Satish Jarkiholi told me that he has not made any investment so far,” Patil said. On being asked whether he could also face an ED raid in the future, Patil said, “Anyone can come.”

'BJP is doing target politics': UT Khader

Meanwhile, Karnataka Minister UT Khader on Sunday also alleged that the BJP was indulging in "target politics" through Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids, reacting to the agency's action against Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi. Khader claimed that a majority of ED raids were being conducted against Congress leaders and alleged that several cases did not result in convictions after investigation.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "BJP is doing target politics. 98% of ED raids are happening only on Congress leaders. During the investigation, 90% of cases are dropped. Only 10% end in punishment." Rejecting allegations that Congress had any role in the ED action, the Karnataka Minister said that party leaders remained united despite what he called a smear campaign. "No matter what smear campaign is done, all leaders of Congress are united. CM D K Shivakumar, Satish Jarkiholi, Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara - all are united. Congress does not have such an attitude; Congress does not target anyone," he said.

ED conducts searches on Satish Jarkiholi

The reaction came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at the residences of Karnataka PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi and his daughter, Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Jarkiholi. The agency also conducted searches at the residence of the minister’s brother-in-law, Y Manjunath, among 18 locations linked to the case.

According to the agency, the case is not related to the alleged excise case against Manjunath but is a separate alleged money laundering case against Satish Jarkiholi. The agency began its operation based on certain inputs and conducted searches in close coordination with security forces.

The searches covered the premises of suspects linked to the case being investigated under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)