Bengaluru IT raids echoes in Parliament: Cong protests, BJP counters

Parliament on Wednesday witnessed a political slugfest over IT raids on Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar with Congress accusing the BJP-led Centre of using central agencies to "terrorise and threaten" party's Gujarat MLAs staying in Bengaluru before the Rajya Sabha polls.
 
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley led the counter charge in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, saying one should not link the raids to Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat and no searches were conducted at the resort, where 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat are staying. Shivakumar is tasked by his party to oversee their stay in Bengaluru and ensure their safety.
 
The IT Department carried out searches in 39 locations, including the resort where the MLAs were staying and Shivakumar was present, with the help of paramilitary forces with the agency saying they have recovered Rs 5 crore from the Delhi residence of the minister.
 
As soon as the House assembled, Rajya Sabha witnessed three adjournments in the morning session with a complete washout of the Question Hour while the Zero Hour was conducted for about 20 minutes. In the Upper House, the issue was raised by senior MP Anand Sharma who expressed his "grave concerns" about the attempts to derail democracy, saying there is an increasing trend of the BJP using state power and agency to threaten the opposition.
 
"The searches are conducted against a Minister and his brother, who is also an elected representative, who is coordinating the safety of MLAs. It is a targeted exercise. The timing is important," Sharma said as Jaitley countered, "does it give immunity (to the Minister)?"
 
"The Minister has parked himself in the resort and the IT officials needed to confront him and adequately question. They went to the resort to take him to his residence. The resort is not an immunity area. No searches were conducted on MLAs," the Minister said as Congress MP shouted slogans. Sharma countered, "sorry to say, this is not a coincidence."
 
The leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government agencies are being used to target the MLAs and that they are indulging in unfair practices. "The raids should not be held against our leaders. You are being accused of luring Congress MLAs. You are trying to bribe. So the raids should happen against BJP leaders. Elections cannot happen under threats and blackmail," Azad said.
 
Congress MPs rushed into the Well after Azad's remarks forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the House. When the House reassembled, the Zero Hour went peacefully but as soon as the Question Hour started, Opposition once again rushed into the Well prompting a 10-minute adjournment first and later till 2 PM.
 
In between, Congress MP Kapil Sibal said central forces are being used by the government to destabilise state governments. "For the first time, we are witnessing this. It never happened. The central forces have gone to a place where the MLAs are staying. This is to instil fear," he said.