Bengaluru: Ever since income tax officials swooped on the residence of Energy Minister D K Shivakumar and his relatives during dawn on August 3, political circles are abuzz with rumours of Congress leaders conspiring against the minister to ensure his downfall.
Mother of minister D K Shivakumar squarely blaming Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for conspiring against her son has given wings to the theory making rounds. State chief minister staying away from public functions two days prior to the raids, the lukewarm defence offered by the state Congress to protect its “key man” has given more room for Shivakumar’s family members to point its fingers at the state Congress leaders. The delayed tweet by CM, measured statements by other Congress leaders failed to assuage the feelings of D K Shivakumar’s family and supporters, resulting in backlash by none other than the minister’s mother in support of his son. In the melee , the only ones’ got ‘booked’ were the youth congress actvists in Dakshina Kananda for vandalising IT office, while exhibiting a spontaneous display of outrage.
At the outset, though the Congress leadership both at the centre and state, blame the BJP central leadership playing vendetta politics for the present situation by terming it as murder of democracy, there are no valiant efforts to protect the Vokkaliga strongman from the state. They argue that the use of central forces (CRPF) during raids set a bad precedent, with BJP igniting the crisis by resorting to poaching Congress MLAs by offering crores to ensure the defeat of Ahmed Patel, Congress Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat and a close confidante of Congress National President Sonia Gandhi.
National Vice president of Congress Rahul Gandhi asking state CM to take on central BJP government on the issue, Mother Sonia’s silence on the matter also gives more room for suspicion.
Though the raids appear planned and well timed, in reality, many politicians within the Congress are happy at the outcome as they wanted to pin down D K Shivakumar to prevent his meteoric rise. It is well known that D K Shivakumar, a promimment Vokklaiga leader from the southern belt of the state had all the wherewithal (both muscle and money power) to overcome his detractors at any given time. He was also billed as the prospective Chief Ministerial candidate in case Congress managed to retain power in the state after the assembly elections in 2018.
In the “power game”, some of D K Shivakumar’s opponents within Congress conspired and furnished all relevant details to tax authorities to ensure his political downfall, say party insiders supporting the minister facing I-T wrath. The Congress regime in the state cannot brush aside the move (raid) of the BJP central regime under the carpet considering the political repercussions. With news pouring in of D K Shivakumar owning illegal cash, jewellery and real estate within the state and having made investments abroad, the party in power in the state will be able to take a clear decision only after a clear picture emerges after the raids conclude.
Meanwhile, raids continued on the third day at various locations including the residence of energy minister as well as those of his relatives in different locations. Though the BJP central leadership is riding high on its success at the moment, the flames associated with its action are not going to die down soon. If the same yard stick is employed, many of its own leaders and those in the state opposition will meet the same fate. All of them will be exposed thread bare with little room to defend themselves as most leaders own wealth disproportionate to the sources of income through benami properties and other illegal financial means. Ultimately the wealth owned by them makes them stronger in the political battle field. Isn’t it?
Shivakumar’s political allegiance to Congress and the manner in which he managed to deliver the goods for the party whenever responsibility was bestowed on him is known to one and all in political circles. Having managed to fish in troubled water and tasted success on earlier occasions, D K Shivakumar jumped into the fray to safeguard his party’s interest to win the “cup of glory” in Gujarat by hosting Congress MLAs from “Gandhian state.” To ensure the victory of Ahmed Patel for the third time in Rajya Sab polls and to gain the confidence of Madam Sonia, Shivakumar went out of his way only to become answerable to I-T authorities on prowl.
The gloomy face of the minister when he faced cameras at his residence on the day of the raids revealed the entire story as the usual “confidence” exhibited went missing on this occasion. He appeared to tell his supporters to maintain calm and was seen folding hands and requesting them to keep their cool.
With none of the Congress leaders from the state or from the central leadership coming in strong defence of the “man in crisis”, D K Shivakaumar is likely to undergo more troubled times in the near future.
With BJP opting for “I-T coup” against exuberant state Congress riding high on the success of events in the state political spectrum, the temperatures on the political battle field are definitely going to rise beyond measure as the countdown has almost begun for one of the toughest election battles ever witnessed in the history of the state.
The glee on D K Shi’s opponents will definitely last for a while before Congress regroups to fight BJP on another day!
