Siddaramaiah says it again: BJP lured DK Shivakumar using Income Tax staff
BENGALURU: For the second day running, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said the BJP had tried to lure energy minister D K Shivakumar through officers of the Income Tax department during raids on the minister’s residence and office, but none in the state unit of BJP was sure of such moves.
The Chief Minister, who spoke of efforts by the BJP to wean away Mr Shivakumar during a protest rally to mark the first anniversary of demonetization in Bengaluru on Wednesday, reiterated the charge while addressing the media at the airport in Hubballi today. “He (Mr Shivakumar) cannot be wooed by the BJP in any manner because he’s born a Congressman. All their (of BJP leaders) will go in vain,” he added. Mr Siddaramaiah also claimed that several BJP leaders were keen to join the Congress, but the ruling party was checking about their connections with the RSS. Those with strong connections with RSS would not be accepted into the party fold because they would be steeped in communalism. The Chief Minister, however, declined to disclose the names of BJP leaders keen to jump ship and join the Congress. The Chief Minister also took potshots at senior BJP leaders and former CMs B S Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and D V Sadananda Gowda for their double speak on Tipu and the state government’s decision to observe his birth anniversary on Friday, November 10. “A couple of them have contributed the Foreword to books on Tipu Sultan while there are pictures published in newspapers of Mr Yeddyurappa attired as Tipu,” he added.
Meanwhile, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundurao, who maintained that the BJP would face defeat in next year’s elections, alleged that the BJP would resort to dirty tricks to woo all Congress leaders with significant support base.
“We are united, and we do not bother much about such threatening tactics. Such strategies will not fetch any votes or strength the BJP," he added. BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa said the party did not need Mr Shivakumar. He, however, did not categorically deny whether the party had approached Mr Shivakumar in the past.
A senior leader, who recounted the developments since Wednesday, wondered why the Congress had released these details in public domain after a report was published in a local vernacular daily with a New Delhi dateline soon after questioning of Mr Shivakumar and members of his family by officers of the Income Tax department on Monday and Tuesday. “Why didn’t Mr Shivakumar speak to the media about this? It raises many questions & there’s more to it than meets the eye,” the leader added.
