Pressure for DK Shivakumar to join BJP, says brother

Congress MP D K Suresh, on Wednesday, claimed that the Central agencies had reposed an offer to his brother, Karnataka Minister D K Shivakumar, to jump ship and join the BJP.

This, Suresh said, was part of an ongoing effort by the BJP-led Centre, to mount pressure on Shivakumar and stunt his political growth.

“They (officials) have again asked him to jump or stay,” Suresh told a press conference here, flanked by fellow party MPs R Dhruvanarayana, K C Ramamurthy, G C Chandrashekhar and B N Chandrappa. “I can’t reveal which central agency officers made the offer, or when the latest offer was made,” Suresh added.

Shivakumar’s house and other properties allegedly linked to him, were raided by Income Tax sleuths last year. Suresh said the I-T had referred a case of criminal conspiracy to the Enforcement Directorate.

“We’ve been saying that the Centre is misusing agencies to target leaders from the opposition parties. I want to ask officials, don’t budge under pressure and work within the framework of law,” Suresh, who represents Bengaluru Rural in Lok Sabha, said.

Ramamurthy, a Rajya Sabha member who was formerly an IPS officer, said all nine Congress MPs from Karnataka had sought an appointment with the Enforcement Directorate’s chief, to tell him how Central agencies were being misused.

“On behalf of all the MPs, I wrote to the ED seeking audience on September 13. So far, there’s been no response whatsoever. This is unlike anything I’ve seen, because officials are always available to MPs,” Ramamurthy said.

The Congress MPs also hit out at BJP leader B Sreeramulu for his Bellary Lok Sabha bypoll campaign slogan ‘Shantha for Delhi, Shivakumar for jail’. “Clearly, Sreeramulu was made to say this, maybe by the BJP leadership that is desperate to put Shivakumar behind bars,” Suresh said.