KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar on Friday expressed surprise over party MLA B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan’s statement that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on his properties on Thursday was in connection with his personal assets and not related to the ₹4,000-crore IMA scam.
“It’s surprising to me that the ED will conduct a raid in connection with assets,” Mr. Shivakumar told reporters here.
He said as per his knowledge, the Income Tax (I-T) Department conducts raids in connection with assets and income and not the ED. “The I-T [Department] should do it”. If the I-T Department finds money-laundering, then the ED commences the probe,” he said.
Mr. Shivakumar pointed out that Mr. Khan in the Legislative Assembly had said that justice should be provided for all 40,000 people who had lost money in the IMA scam.
“This is our party’s stand too,” the KPCC chief said. Apparently, he mocked the party MLA’s statement that the ED raided his properties with regard to his sources of income and not the IMA case.
Referring to CBI raid on his residence last year, Mr. Shivakumar said the ED and the I-T Department registered cases against him after obtaining permission from the government.
On Minister S.T. Somashekhar’s comment in Mysuru that Mr. Shivakumar might be responsible for the raid on Mr. Khan’s properties as he was projecting Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah as the party’s chief ministerial face for the 2023 elections, the KPCC president laughed off and said, “I am so happy. My old friend Somashekhar believes that the ED is under my control”.
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