Cong, JD(S), other outfits to protest arrest of Shivakumar

The Congress, Janata Dal(S) and some other outfits on Tuesday gave a call for a "Raj Bhavan Chalo" march on September 11 in protest against the arrest of Congress leader D K Shivakumar, who is in the Enforcement Directorate custody in an alleged money laundering case.

The other outfits include the Vokkaliga Sangha and the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda faction).

Leaders of these outfits will address the gathering on Wednesday after which they will march towards the Raj Bhavan.

In view of the agitation, Shivakumar appealed to his supporters to maintain peace.

"I wholeheartedly thank leaders, supporters, well-wishers and friends who have organised a massive protest in my support tomorrow in Bengaluru.

I humbly request that the protest be peaceful & doesn't cause any inconvenience to citizens. Please ensure public property isn't harmed," Shivakumar tweeted.

He said he has full faith in God and in the judiciary.

"I am very confident that I will emerge victorious both legally and politically against this vendetta politics," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, who also belongs to the Vokkaliga community, urged the activists to conduct a peaceful agitation and not to take the law into their hands.

In view of the protest, police have made elaborate security arrangements and diverted traffic all along the procession route.

Shivakumar, a former Karnataka Cabinet minister, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on September 3 and is presently in the agency's custody.

The ED had in September 2018 registered a money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others.

The criminal case was filed based on an Income Tax department charge sheet filed against Shivakumar and others before a court in Bengaluru for alleged tax evasion and hawala dealings.