IT raids Karnataka minister in charge of hosting Gujarat Congress MLAs

The income tax department raided on Wednesday a Karnataka minister who is in charge of hosting Congress legislators from Gujarat at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru, TV channels and news agency ANI reported.

The raids targeting Karnataka energy minister DK Shivakumar began around 7am, reports said. HT could not independently verify the charges against the minister.

Forty-one Congress legislators were taken to ‘Eagleton - The Golf Village’ near Bengaluru late last Friday after six of their colleagues quit the party, depleting the party’s numerical strength in the Gujarat assembly to 51 ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections.

The revolt by Congress MLAs threatens to jeopardise senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s bid for a Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat. Patel, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary, seemed to have the requisite numbers for now.

If the Congress keeps the flock together in Bengaluru, Patel will romp home with the assured support of two NCP MLAs and one rebel BJP legislator.

But the Congress has accused the ruling BJP of offering bribes and using police action to intimidate the legislators. The BJP has denied the charges.

(With agency inputs)