Even as Income Tax department sleuths continued the search and seizure of documents from Karnataka Energy Minster’s residence on the third day, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday questioned the timing of the raids on D.K. Shivakumar. Speaking to reporters here, the CM said, “I am not against raids per se, but look at the timing of the raids,” adding that it was “politically motivated.”
The CM also strongly opposed use of central forces for IT raids and said it undermined the federal structure. Asked about Union Minister Ananth Kumar’s statement that raids were conducted to crackdown on corruption, the CM said, “There are corruption charges against Ananth Kumar himself.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Mr. Shivakumar's mother hit out at Mr. Siddaramaiah, accusing him of not protecting her son.