Big conspiracy going on to finish me politically: D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru: With the Central Bureau of Investigation serving notice to the Kerala-based Jaihind Communications Pvt. Ltd. channel headed by him, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday, January 1, alleged that a big conspiracy is going on to finish him politically.

The central agency issued a notice to the firm on Sunday seeking details of the investments made in the channel by Shivakumar in connection with a disproportionate assets case against the Congress leader.

The Bengaluru unit of the agency, which is probing the case against Shivakumar, had asked the managing director of Jaihind Communications Pvt. Ltd. to appear before it on January 11, 2024, along with all the requisite documents sought by the investigation officer.

Reacting to the latest development, the Deputy CM said if the CBI wants to arrest him, then let them do so, as he is prepared for it.

Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress unit president, wondered how the CBI was issuing notices against his firm, though it had all the documents with it.

“I don’t know how they are issuing notices. They have all the documents with them. It’s not because they don’t have any documents. There are big people who harass me. I know it all. It’s not that I am unaware of it. Let them do whatever they want to finish me politically,” Shivakumar, who is an MLA from Kanakapura, told reporters here.

“There is a big conspiracy going on. Some BJP leaders had said earlier that they would send me to jail. They have conveyed their message to the department concerned. I have asked those who have spoken about me to come for a discussion. There is a big plot being hatched,” he said.

Stating that he has not done anything wrong and that he will get justice, Shivakumar said to let the CBI conduct any inquiry against him.

To the question of whether he had gotten the notice, he said his firm had gotten it.

“My partnership firm, of which I am the chief, has been served notice. They are asking my children, my wife, and relatives. The CBI is asking our family members and those from our village who are directors of society,” Shivakumar explained.

When asked whether he got individual notice, he said the CBI would first finish their investigation at the firm level and then come after him.

Shivakumar said the state government had handed over the matter to Lokayukta, though he did not request or insist on it.

The government has withdrawn the permission granted to the CBI to prosecute cases against him and handed over the case to the Lokayukta.

He said that he would answer the Lokayukta whenever it asked for it.

“Earlier, the case was given to the CBI. The investigation has not been completed yet. They wanted cross-examination, which they haven’t done. Now, based on their notice, it seems they did not do even 10 percent of the investigation, but they told the court that 90 percent of the inquiry is over. I don’t know the basis behind their claim,” Shivakumar pointed out.

To a question about whether he would challenge the notice, he said the CBI is summoning him, but “there is no occasion for me to go there.”

“They are asking me to challenge their notice. If they want to see me behind bars, then let them do it. I have no problem. I am ready for it,” he said.

Shivakumar, who is accused in a money laundering case, spent 51 days in Tihar Jail in 2019.

Recently, the Karnataka government withdrew the permission granted to the CBI to probe cases against Shivakumar, saying that it was not in accordance with the law’.