BJP can’t form govt even if I’m behind bars: DKS

Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday claimed that the BJP-led Centre was trying to frame him by using agencies such as the I-T and Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In a hurriedly convened press conference at his official residence, Shivakumar took a dig at BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra for claiming he was involved in hawala transactions. This came a day after the ED filed a money laundering case against Shivakumar, who is undergoing treatment for food poisoning.

“My staff have been forced to make statements against me. You have been behind my blood and my party. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the country will show the result,” Shivakumar said, lashing out at the BJP. “Officers have been used against me. Forcibly, 82 raids were conducted and it was falsely claimed that every property and whatever was found belonged to me,” he said, adding that a diary allegedly recovered from Congress leader Govindaraju, which had jottings of payments made to party leaders, was fake. “Have they forgotten Advani’s diaries and Modi’s diaries,” he asked.

Shivakumar, who is considered the Congress’ Man Friday, said the BJP was targetting him for protecting 44 Gujarat MLAs from being poached last year and for keeping the BJP from forming a government here after the May 12 Assembly polls. “This is why the ED has booked a case. I will face it. I will not run away. Let them arrest me. Even if I’m behind bars, the BJP can’t form a government here. Their daydream will never come true,” he said. In the I-T raids last year, he said Rs 41 lakh was found that belonged to him. “I have a lot of agricultural lands and get income from the business. I’ve already paid over Rs 30 crore in taxes. Every rupee is accounted for,” he said.