As IT raid ends Shivakumar says 'truth will come out soon'

As the Income Tax department ends its raid at Karnataka Power Minister D.K. Shivakumar's various addresses, the minister on Saturday thanked the leaders for supporting him at the time of crisis and said truth will come out soon.

The Income Tax department conducted raid at the residences of Shivakumar in Bengaluru and Delhi for consecutive three days.

"I would like to thank leaders across the country, who stood by me in the crisis. I don't want to embarrass my party. It is my duty to be a party worker. I will not let down my party and its leaders. I have cooperated with all the officials. Truth will only come out," he told media.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier on Friday said that IT raid on Shivakumar is a politically motivated move.

Raising question over the intention of the Central Government, the Chief Minister said "such things don't happen in a federal structure".

"This is a politically motivated raid, the timing shows that. I am not against any raid anywhere. The time that they have selected and the intention of the government is not right. This is the first time IT people have brought the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel to conduct raid," Siddaramiah told media.

Earlier, Shivakumar's brother, Suresh Kumar, said that the Rs. 10 crore recovered during the raids by the income tax does not belong to the minister.

"The IT department raided a total of 70 places from where they have collectively seized Rs. 10 crore. The whole amount does not belong to D.K. Shivakumar and his family," said Suresh Kumar, and added that raids are politically motivated.

The IT department had also raided the house of the minister's father-in-law in Bengaluru.

The IT department on July 2 had raided Shivakumar's residence and at a private resort in Bengaluru, where Congress' MLAs from Gujarat are staying.

In the wake of incessant raids the Congress created ruckus in both the Houses of Parliament and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central Government was indulging in political witch-hunt just to defeat Congress candidate Ahmed Patel in Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat.

The IT department also maintained that its raid at Shivkumar's residence and resort has nothing to do with the Gujarat's Congress MLAs.

-ANI