CBI, ED, IT should be impartial, not function in favour of one party, says Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said central agencies like CBI, ED and Income Tax should be impartial and not function in favour of one party.

He also said that the ruling Congress was ready to face and win November 13 by-polls in three assembly segments in the state.

“Nagendra (former Minister B Nagendra) has told the media that he was pressurised by the ED. He also informed me that he was pressurised to name me and D K Shivakumar (Deputy Chief Minister). No agency should work in favour of a party. Whether it is CBI or ED or Income Tax, they should function impartially,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.

The Chief Minister was responding to former Minister B Nagendra’s allegations that he was pressurised by the ED to name him and Shivakumar in the multi-crore scam in Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.

Nagendra had, after walking out of the jail on bail on Wednesday, also charged the ED (Directorate of Enforcement) with arresting him in connection with the scam, under pressure from the BJP, as part of a conspiracy to destabilise the Congress government.

Siddaramaiah said, in all the three constituencies that will go for by-polls, the Congress party is ready to face the election.

“..all preparations are being done. In two to three days, names (of candidates) will be announced. In all the three constituencies Congress party will win,” he said.

Responding to a question on his meeting Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, along with Shivakumar on Wednesday evening, the CM said, “….we discussed the upcoming by-election.” The Election Commission of India on Tuesday announced that the bypolls to Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna will be held on November 13, and the results will be declared on November 23.

The last date for filing nominations is October 25, and the final date for withdrawal of papers is October 30.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives — E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) — to Lok Sabha in May elections.