“Will fight till last breath,” DK Shivakumar after Karnataka HC dismisses plea in disproportionate assets case

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 21 (ANI): A day after the Karnataka High Court dismissed D K Shivakumar’s plea in a disproportionate assets case, the Congress leader on Friday said that he will fight till his last breath.

“I will approach the High Courts; I will fight till the last breath. I believe in a court of law. I still believe they have done an injustice. Everything is transparent,” said Shivakumar, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President.
“I believe in people’s court, they (BJP) are trying to use various agencies…I am very cautious on every move, I am also a political animal,” Shivakumar said.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission today accepted the nomination of Shivakumar for the Kanakapura assembly constituency.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janta Party government, Shivakumar alleged that the double engine government could not help people during Covid, drought and other kinds of problems.

“BJP is blackmailing the people of Karnataka. The double engine could not help during Covid, drought and any kind of problems. They are harassing West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and many other opposition government states. We can sustain all these pressures,” the Congress leader said.

Shivakumar further said that despite having all his papers in order he had been served notices by the Income Tax department.

“All my papers are transparent whatever I have filled to the election commission, Income Tax, ED, Lokayukta and CBI. They are trying to interpret it in a different format. They want to create problems for me and they are harassing me. Notices have been given to me by the Income Tax department. I don’t want to talk about law/court matters. I am ready to face whatever they give,” he said.

Yesterday, Shivakumar, had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the sanction given by the Karnataka State government to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute him.

Shivakumar had filed an application stating that the Karnataka government’s order for the CBI probe was wrong.

Hearing arguments of both sides, the single-judge bench led by Justice Natarajan had dismissed Shivakumar’s petition.

In 2019, the BS Yeddyurappa government sanctioned an investigation against DK Shivakumar. At that time, the CBI registered an FIR with the State government’s permission. Based on this case, the bench headed by Natarajan dismissed the petition filed by DK Shivakumar.

Earlier, the CBI had assessed the property after the Karnataka Congress chief had made a statement that he is a farmer and getting income from agriculture.

Notably, the affidavit filed by Shivakumar while submitting his nomination papers for the May 10 Assembly polls has revealed that the wealth of Congress’s Karnataka chief has increased by 68 per cent as compared to 2018.

In the affidavit submitted by Shivakumar entering the fray for the Assembly polls, Shivakumar pegged his total assets and those of his family members at a combined value of Rs 1414 crore.

In his affidavit for the 2013 Assembly polls, the assets held by the Congress leader’s family were valued at Rs 251 crore while, in the 2018 affidavit, the combined value of the property held by his kin was pegged at Rs 840 crore.

According to the affidavit, Shivakumar holds 12 bank accounts, some of which are jointly managed by his brother D K Suresh. The total value of assets held by D K Shivakumar is Rs 1414 crore. He also has a loan amounting to Rs 225 crores, his affidavit states further. Shivakumar has only one car in his name, a Toyota priced at Rs 8,30,000.

The immovable properties in the name of the Congress leader are Rs 970 crore, whereas those in the name of his wife Usha are worth Rs 113.38 crore.

Immovable properties in the name of his son Akash are worth Rs 54.33 crore. The total assets in Shivakumar’s name are valued at Rs 1,214.93 crore and those in the name of his wife and son are worth Rs 133 crore and Rs 66 crore respectively.

Shivakumar declared his annual income at Rs 14.24 crore whereas his wife’s annual income is Rs 1.9 crore.

Before filing his nomination, the Congress State president had held a roadshow in his constituency from he has been elected seven times. Shivakumar exuded confidence in the Congress forming the government in the State with a comfortable majority.

The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13.