Senior Karnataka Congress leader and former cabinet minister DK Shivakumar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. MLA Shivkumar appeared for the fourth time for questioning at the ED headquarters in Khan Market. Officials said they needed to be interrogated for custody, hence arrested.

His supporters created a ruckus outside the ED office while taking Shivakumar for medical examination after his late arrest. The ED will present him in court on Wednesday and seek custody for questioning. Meanwhile, Sivakumar has called it a political vendetta. At the same time, Congress has also come out in his support. Significantly, in September last year, the ED had filed a case under the Money Laundering Act against Shivkumar and some others including Hanumanthaiah, an employee of the Karnataka building in Delhi.

The case was registered by the Income Tax Department last year on the basis of a charge sheet filed against Shivkumar in a special court in Bangalore. It was accused of tax evasion of crores and hawala transactions. Last week itself, the Karnataka High Court dismissed Shivakumar’s petition challenging ED summons. He then had to appear before the investigating agency.

Congress Came Out In Support, Karnataka Closed Today
With the arrest of Shivkumar, the entire Congress including all the senior leaders came in his support. Party spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the country is struggling with unemployment and recession. In order to divert attention from these, Congress leaders are being accused of false and revenge-driven cases. Former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy also said that action is being taken in retaliation. The Karnataka Congress has called for a shutdown in the state on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the entire Congress party has come to his rescue. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the country is struggling with unemployment and recession. To divert all this attention, false and revenge-driven cases are being filed against Congress leaders. Shivkumar’s arrest is also a revenge action. Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has also said that action is being taken in retaliation.

DK Is The Master of The Fund And A Favorite Gathering
‘Even if millions of slogans are raised, this DK is not afraid of anyone. I have come alone and I will go alone… ‘DK Shivakumar once gave a similar introduction. He is associated with the top leadership in Delhi as many activists are associated with the organization. Along with raising funds and favors, he has been tasked to make Congress rallies a hit. The 57-year-old Shivkumar, who owns thousands of crores of assets, is considered Chanakya of electoral management.

In November last year, in the by-elections in three Lok Sabha and two assembly seats in Karnataka, he strengthened the party by winning the Congress in the Vellari Lok Sabha and Ramnagar Assembly seats, which is the stronghold of the opposition. After the case was filed against him, he had said that during the Rajya Sabha elections in 2017, the Income Tax raided me because of playing an important role in accommodating Gujarat Congress MLAs in the resort of Karnataka. DK was very active during the upheaval in the Congress-JDS government and went to Mumbai to persuade rebel MLAs. Opposition leaders also believe in their political skills.