Parliament Day 13: Raids at Karnataka minister's house causes chaos
Day 13 of the Parliament's monsoon session was ruled by this morning's I-T raids at Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar's residence and a resort where 42 Gujarat Congress MLAs are staying. Congress' Anand Sharma called the timing 'suspect' and accused BJP of "abusing state power and agencies". Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the raids were linked with economic offence, not the RS elections.
What happened?
This morning, I-T launched raids at Bengaluru's Eagleton Golf Resort, where Congress is housing about 40 of its MLAs whom it flew out of Gujarat amid an exodus. Shivakumar, who is in charge of hospitality for the MLAs, also had his Kanakapura residence raided.
Tax officers being used to intimidate, Congress alleges
Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge alleged tax officers were being used "to scare and intimidate". "Conduct raids on those people from your party (BJP) who are offering Rs. 15cr," Ghulam Nabi Azad dared Jaitley. Jaitley responded that the resort wasn't searched, the minister was, just that he happened to be at the resort. He added Shivakumar was tearing up documents, which have been recovered.
BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi raises CPI(M)-ruled Kerala's political killings
BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi read out the names of 14 people killed in Kerala. "Nobody knows these names but everyone recognizes Pehlu Khan and Akhlaq," she said. Talking about Kerala's alleged political killings, she said, "God's own country has become God-forsaken because democratic principles aren't practiced."
Other issues raised: Press freedom, MTP Act amendment and more
Congress' Husain Dalwai talked of the EPW incident and alleged journalists as well as NDTV Hindi were being pressured. Congress' Rajani Patil raked up the case of the 10-year-old rape victim who was denied an abortion. She called on the government to clear the MTP (Amendment) Act. Meanwhile, CPI's D Raja and CPI(M)'s SP Datta questioned the government's large-scale privatization, alleging private agenda.
