Income Tax Dept searches Karnataka resort where Gujarat Congress MLAs are holed up

The room of a minister in the Karnataka government D K Shivakumar who is looking after the Gujarat Congress MLAs at the resort was searched by the IT authorities. PTI reported that Rs 5 crore was recovered during an IT raid at the Delhi residence of the Congress minister.

Also read: BJP on witch-hunt to win 1 RS seat, says Ahmed Patel

The Congress MLAs from Gujarat have been at the resort since July 30 as part of a Congress strategy to keep its flock together to ensure the support of 45 MLAs that is needed to ensure that Ahmed Patel, senior Congress leader and aide to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is elected again to the Rajya Sabha in polls to be held this weekend.

“BJP is on an unprecedented witch-hunt just to win one Rajya Sabha seat”

The office of the Director General of IT (Investigations) said that the Income tax department was conducting searches only in the case of the Karnataka energy minister D K Shivakumar and not with respect to the Gujarat MLAs sheltered at the resort.

“The search under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act is an evidence gathering exercise which is being carried in compliance with all statutory requirements. The search is the continuation of an investigation which has been in progress for a considerable period of time,” the department said.

“The timing of the search was decided well in advance. The events involving certain MLAs of another state being brought to Karnataka were unforeseen and unpredictable events,” the department has claimed.

According to the IT department the resort where the Gujarat MLAs were staying was searched because the Karnataka minister Shivakumar was staying at the resort as well.

“The Minister being searched was staying at a resort near Bangalore where some MLAs from another state are put up. Hence the Minister’s room alone is being searched,” the IT department said.

“The search team has no concern with the MLAs and there has been no contact with MLAs and the search team,'” the department said.