Yes we donated Rs 50 lakh to National Herald. What’s wrong with that?: DK Shivakumar | Bengaluru News
VIJAYAPURA/MYSURU: Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar Friday admitted that he and his brother, former MP, DK Suresh, together contributed Rs 50 lakh to the National Herald newspaper and wondered how that could be illegal. With reports suggesting Shivakumar and Suresh feature in the Enforcement Directorate charge sheet, the deputy CM told reporters in Vijayapura district: “My brother Suresh and I donated Rs 25 lakh each. What is wrong with that? We donated to a newspaper run by our party.”On claims that his trust also donated Rs 2.5 crore, Shivakumar said: “Yes, we gave the funds to the trust. This wasn’t done illegally. We donated from our incomes and properties.”Suresh, in Bengaluru, also admitted to donating to the trust. “We answered all questions posed by ED officers. We had no information that donating was wrong,” he said.The former Bengaluru Rural MP said the money donated to the trust was part of I-T declarations. “This is not Sonia Gandhi’s trust but that of Young India. We donated to Young India trust, which was not meant for personal gain and never used for personal reasons,” he said.Suresh claimed charge sheets were being filed in a manner to “fix” Congress members.In Mysuru, CM Siddaramaiah said: “Are donations wrong? There is nothing wrong with donations.”Meanwhile, Union minister HD Kumaraswamy Friday claimed state Congress functionaries has got the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to conduct search and seizure operations on an educational institution linked to home minister G Parameshwara.Kumaraswamy claimed Parameshwara was deliberately targeted in a gold smuggling case to reduce his clout in a power struggle within Congress party. He claimed the real motive was to “sideline” Dalit functionaries and elevate a rival to the chief minister’s post.He said a ‘Mahanayaka’— supreme leader — who is eyeing the chief minister position is behind the search and seizure operation. He suggested that Parameshwara’s recent political activity, including efforts to organise a meeting of Dalit functionaries and engage with national brass, could have triggered this backlash.Kumaraswamy said the gold smuggling case was a tool to damage Parameshwara’s credibility and derail his political ambitions.In Gadag, Union renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi made similar claims, saying ED launched its investigation based on information provided by Congress members. “ED is only doing its duty,” he said. He claimed that even chief minister Siddaramaiah is aware of who leaked the information. “Parameshwara is a respectable politician. The Union govt has no intention of troubling him, but if ED receives information, it will do its job regardless of who it is,” Joshi said.Reacting to Kumaraswamy’s remarks, Shivakumar said the Union minister’s name was synonymous with lies. Earlier, in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah targeted the Centre over the ED raids, alleging it was politically motivated. “Prima facie, the raids on Parameshwara look like they are politically motivated. While I will not say do not conduct raids at all, they should not be politically motivated,” he said.
