BENGALURU: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi, on Thursday, is said to have told DK Shivakumar and his family “not to lose heart”, while offering support to the former Karnataka minister who is currently in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Sonia’s message came three days after Shivakumar was arrested on charges of money laundering.
The AICC president spoke to Shivakumar’s MP brother DK Suresh on the phone for about three minutes. She is said to have assured Shivakumar of legal help, while accusing the BJP of indulging in political vendetta by targeting opposition leaders.
“The entire party is with you. Don’t lose heart,” she is said to have told Suresh.
ED sleuths continued to grill Shivakumar for the sixth day on Thursday. He is lodged at the Tughlaq Road police station, where he is likely to be kept for the entire duration of his custody — awarded by a CBI court till September 13.
Shivakumar was brought to ED’s headquarters at around 8.30am on Thursday for interrogation and kept there till 9pm. As per the court’s direction, ED officials allowed friends and relatives to meet Shivakumar after 6pm when Suresh and Kunigal MLA HD Ranganath met the Kanakapura MLA.
Members of Shivakumar’s family — his mother and wife in particular — who were also planning to meet him on Friday, cancelled their visit to Delhi at the last minute. Sources say Shivakumar is mulling to move a higher court to seek bail, but is unsure over whether to approach the Delhi high court or the Supreme Court. Suresh on Thursday consulted senior advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi in this regard.
Protests continue
Condemning his arrest, Congress workers and Shivakumar’s supporters continued protests on Thursday too. Protests were held in Ramanagara, Kanakapura, Channapatna, Tumakuru, Mysuru, Chitradurga and other parts of the state. Ramanagara and Kanakapura towns were shut for a second day as hundreds of Shivakumar’s supporters took to the streets. Schools and colleges remained closed.
Vehicular traffic was disrupted on the busy Mysuru-Bengaluru highway as Congress and JD(S) workers held a rasta-roko. Traffic was blocked in Maddur and Hanakere and vehicles piled up for several kilometres on both sides of the highway.
Party workers, who squatted on the highway, shouted slogans against BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bandh was observed in Besagarahalli town with shops downing shutters. Similar protests were held in Mandya, Maddur and Koppa. In Maddur town, former minister and JD(S) MLA DC Tammanna led a rasta-roko on the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway.
Congress leader N Cheluvarayaswamy told reporters Shivakumar’s arrest was purely vendetta politics.
Leading the protests in Mysuru, former chief minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of misusing its power by setting ED, I-T and other central agencies on opposition leaders. In Koratagere, Tumakuru district, former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara led protests.
The AICC president spoke to Shivakumar’s MP brother DK Suresh on the phone for about three minutes. She is said to have assured Shivakumar of legal help, while accusing the BJP of indulging in political vendetta by targeting opposition leaders.
“The entire party is with you. Don’t lose heart,” she is said to have told Suresh.
ED sleuths continued to grill Shivakumar for the sixth day on Thursday. He is lodged at the Tughlaq Road police station, where he is likely to be kept for the entire duration of his custody — awarded by a CBI court till September 13.
Shivakumar was brought to ED’s headquarters at around 8.30am on Thursday for interrogation and kept there till 9pm. As per the court’s direction, ED officials allowed friends and relatives to meet Shivakumar after 6pm when Suresh and Kunigal MLA HD Ranganath met the Kanakapura MLA.
Members of Shivakumar’s family — his mother and wife in particular — who were also planning to meet him on Friday, cancelled their visit to Delhi at the last minute. Sources say Shivakumar is mulling to move a higher court to seek bail, but is unsure over whether to approach the Delhi high court or the Supreme Court. Suresh on Thursday consulted senior advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi in this regard.
Protests continue
Condemning his arrest, Congress workers and Shivakumar’s supporters continued protests on Thursday too. Protests were held in Ramanagara, Kanakapura, Channapatna, Tumakuru, Mysuru, Chitradurga and other parts of the state. Ramanagara and Kanakapura towns were shut for a second day as hundreds of Shivakumar’s supporters took to the streets. Schools and colleges remained closed.
Vehicular traffic was disrupted on the busy Mysuru-Bengaluru highway as Congress and JD(S) workers held a rasta-roko. Traffic was blocked in Maddur and Hanakere and vehicles piled up for several kilometres on both sides of the highway.
Party workers, who squatted on the highway, shouted slogans against BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bandh was observed in Besagarahalli town with shops downing shutters. Similar protests were held in Mandya, Maddur and Koppa. In Maddur town, former minister and JD(S) MLA DC Tammanna led a rasta-roko on the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway.
Congress leader N Cheluvarayaswamy told reporters Shivakumar’s arrest was purely vendetta politics.
Leading the protests in Mysuru, former chief minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of misusing its power by setting ED, I-T and other central agencies on opposition leaders. In Koratagere, Tumakuru district, former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara led protests.
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