Shivakumar's arrest yet another attempt by govt to distract people from its failed policies: Congress

Terming the arrest of DK Shivakumar as "high-handed tactics and vendetta politics", the Congress on Tuesday said it is yet another attempt by the government to distract the public from their failed policies and economic crisis.

"We strongly condemn the high-handed tactics & vendetta politics being deployed against Congress leaders. The arrest of DK Shivakumar is yet another attempt by the govt to distract the public from their failed policies & the sorry state of the economy. #BJPVendettaPolitics," the party tweeted.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday evening arrested Shivakumar in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

Calling the arrest of Shivakumar as a clear case of political vendetta by the fascist government at the centre, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal tweeted, "The arrest of DK Shivakumar is a clear case of political vendetta by the fascist government at the centre. After Chidambaram, yet another leader facing vengeance for standing up against the horse-trading and petty politics of the BJP."

Taking to Twitter, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy wrote, "After days of interrogation, without allowing even a day's break for the festival, ED now cites non-cooperation to arrest DK Shivakumar. The ruling govt is using investigation agencies to oppress those opposition leaders who they think are a threat to their interests."

On August 29, the Karnataka High Court had dismissed his petition challenging the summons issued by the ED in December 2018.

Later that night, he was summoned by the law enforcement agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was asked to appear before it on August 30, following which he was interrogated for four days.

The 57-year-old leader had earlier asserted that he has not done anything wrong and will fully cooperate with the investigating agency.

"It is all a conspiracy. I have not made any mistake, murder or indulged in corruption. The money you found is my money and I earned it," he had said.