D K Shivakumar appears before ED in Delhi, says summons attempt to thwart Bharat Jodo Yatra

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in the national capital for questioning. Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh were summoned in the probe connected with an ongoing probe in the National Herald money laundering case.

The veteran Congress leader had asked for a pass as he wanted to be present during the Bharat Jodo Yatra."I have been summoned by ED. I had requested them to call both me and my brother DK Suresh after October 23 but the concerned official directed us to present before him nonetheless. So we left the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the middle and arrived here," said Karnataka Congress Chief DK Shivakumar.

Earlier Shivakumar had slammed the ED and termed the summons as a political harassment

"I requested the Enforcement Directorate to postpone their summons in view of the BharatJodoYatra. Their rejection is a clear sign that the timing of their summons is political harassment. They don't like my participation in the BharathAikyataYatre," tweeted Shivakumar.On September 7, the ED Enforcement Directorate (ED) rejected Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar's request for extending the date of his appearance before the agency.

Earlier DK Shivkumar also accused the government of misusing agencies to harass him after seeing the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress leader said he would discuss the summons with fellow party leaders and take a call on whether he should appear.The ED had filed a charge sheet against Shivakumar and others in a money laundering case in May. Shivakumar is currently serving as the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

The money laundering case was registered by the Enforcement Directorate, based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax (IT) department. The I-T department, during the initial probe, had allegedly found unaccounted and misreported wealth linked to the Congress leader.DK Shivakumar earlier had called the charges "baseless" and "politically motivated".