Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow over IT raids in Bengaluru

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday was adjourned till Thursday after the Congress party created uproar over the Income Tax raids at Karnataka Power Minister DK Shivakumar's residence and resort in Bengaluru where 44 MLAs from Gujarat are staying.

The House was adjourned for the entire day after it was adjourned thrice earlier.

The Income Tax department on Wednesday morning conducted raids at Karnataka's Minister for Energy DK Shivakumar's residence and at Eagleton Golf resort.

Raising the matter in Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Anand Sharma said it is now becoming a trend of the Government to blatantly misuse powers of the state.

"The minister and his brother, an elected representative were coordinating in stay of Gujarat MLAs that is why it is a targeted timing," he added.

Another Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Conduct raids on residences of those people from your party (BJP) who are offering Rs 15 crore.

Congress alleges that the BJP was offering its Gujarat MLAs Rs 15 crore each to resign from Congress.

Earlier today, the Rajya Sabha witnessed protests by the opposition against the "witch-hunt by the government".

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju rejected the opposition Congress Party's claim of the government carrying out a witch hunt by ordering the Income Tax (IT) department to raid against Shivakumar.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that the BJP-led Centre was resorting to IT raid in wake of the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat.

Kharge, defending his party in the Lower House, said that the ruling dispensation would not be successful in trying to pick on their party leaders.

"Just to defeat one Rajya Sabha candidate, they are doing all this, but they will not be successful," said Kharge.

Congress has fielded senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel for the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat.

The grand old party has also blamed the BJP for the resignation of its six MLAs in Gujarat, who later joined BJP.

After its MLAs' resignations, the party sent its 44 MLAs from Gujarat to Bengaluru and said the move was to save the MLAs from the pressure of the BJP.

However, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that the income tax raid at residence of Karnataka power minister DK Shivakumar has no links with Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat.

Jaitley, while addressing the Lok Sabha, said that the raids are being conducted purely on economic front.

"This raid should not be linked with any Gujarat poll, this is on a purely economic offence," said Jaitley.

The Rajya Sabha was also rocked by opposition protests over an Election Commission notification that provides the MLAs the 'None of the Above' (NOTA) option in the voting for the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat on August 8.

Angry members of the Congress and other Opposition parties forced adjournments of the proceedings as they questioned the NOTA provision for these elections.

The IT department denied that its raid at Karnataka Energy Minister's residence and resort has nothing to do with the Gujarat's Congress MLAs.