IT raids at properties linked to Shivakumar continue, brother says money not ours

Read | IT raids on Karnataka minister spark political storm in Delhi. Click here.

Suresh said he had had a word with his mother, who had previously blamed Siddaramaiah for the raids on Shivakumar. “My mother said she is under (media) pressure. I have had word with her,” he said, reported ANI. “He (Shivakumar) is fine, he is taking rest,” he added.

Editorial | Targeting a political opponent on the eve of a crucial poll invites questions of the misuse of Central agencies. Click here.

The Congress, which called it a ‘witch-hunt’ by the BJP and questioned the timing of the raids, had raked up the issue in Parliament yesterday.

In the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, the Leader of the House, had denied any connection between the raids and the elections on Wednesday. “There has been no search (operation) at a resort… nor has any Gujarat MLA been searched by the department… there has been no contact (of the tax department) with them,” he said. “It is true, a search has been conducted on a minister of the Karnataka government and his associates… The man whose house was being searched reached the resort. Since a person continued on who was raided had to be confronted with the recoveries made from his premises, the tax department personnel got to the resort where he had been hiding. He was taken from there to his house. There is no tax department official at the resort,” he had added.

(With inputs from agencies)