CM trying to malign IAS officer's reputation: Oppn

The BJP and the JD(S) on Thursday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of systematically trying to tarnish the reputation of the deceased IAS  officer D K Ravi.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy referred to a statement made by Siddaramaiah in an interview published in a section of Kannada media. In the interview, Siddaramaiah sought to know why Ravi had returned home on Monday (the day he died) within an hour of reaching office. Siddaramaiah had also sought to know why Ravi had made 44 calls to his batchmate lady officer at that hour.

Taking exception to the statements of the chief minister, Kumaraswamy said it was clear that the government was trying to tarnish Ravi’s character and hush up the case.

He accused Siddaramaiah of misleading Ravi’s parents by stating that there was not much difference between CID and CBI probes.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadish Shettar, also referred to Siddaramaiah’s interview and said it was a ploy to damage Ravi’s character. He said it was clear that politicians and business bigwigs were behind Ravi’s death, and accused the government of trying to dilute the case.

Earlier, BJP and JD(S) legislators assembled before the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises, went on a ‘padayatra’ and submitted a memorandum to Governor Vajubhai Vala seeking his intervention in getting the death of the officer probed by the CBI.

Both the parties withdrew their dharna in the Legislative Assembly and the Council on Thursday morning, though they continued to air their demand for a CBI probe and raised slogans against the government. They also displayed newspapers which had highlighted the parents of Ravi staging an agitation in front of the Vidhana Soudha seeking a CBI probe.

Some legislators wore black badges as part of the protest. They were in no mood to listen to the ministers who tried to defend the government stand.