Sonia Gandhi meets DK Shivakumar in Tihar: Details here
What's the story
Congress is not giving up on its leaders, even the jailed ones. This is the message interim party president Sonia Gandhi sent on Wednesday when she visited DK Shivakumar in Tihar prison. The Congress leader is lodged in Asia's largest prison facility, in connection to a money laundering case. Sonia had also visited former Finance Minister P Chidambaram weeks ago.
Context
Backstory: Shivakumar was arrested last month
Shivakumar, a Congress strongman in Karnataka, was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 3. The agency started probe on the basis of complaint registered by I-T department. It alleged that Shivakumar, along with his aide SK Sharma, moved huge amount of money through "hawala" channels. In fact, ED also summoned Shivakumar's wife, daughter, and mother for investigation.
Visit
Sonia's visits are designed to send message to cadre
On her latest visit to Tihar, Sonia was accompanied by senior leader KC Venugopal. Notably, Congress sincerely believes its leaders have become victims of political vendetta and that they haven't violated any law of the land. "The visits are a message to the cadre that the party stands firmly with leaders who have been jailed in such cases," a Congress leader said.
Twitter Post
Here are the visuals from the spot
Delhi: Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi arrives at Tihar Jail to meet Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is currently lodged in the jail under judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case. pic.twitter.com/M3mtlxXmZZ
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2019
Details
Earlier this week, Kumaraswamy also met Shivakumar
Meanwhile on Monday, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy also paid a visit to Shivakumar. After meeting his former cabinet colleague, the JD(S) leader said, "It was a cordial meeting. He is very confident that he can face everything. He has that capacity. Whoever wants to do vengeance politics, they will be taught." He termed the visit a "personal" one.
Quote
He is mentally strong: Kumaraswamy told about Shivakumar
"I came here to give confidence to him. He is mentally very strong. He will fight it with boldness. He has given all the details and he co-operated with them very well. Anyone can guess why this is all going on," Kumaraswamy told reporters.
Plea
Meanwhile, Delhi HC will give verdict on his bail plea
On a related note, the Delhi High Court will pronounce the verdict on Shivakumar's bail plea today. The court had reserved its judgment on October 17. The Congress troubleshooter in Karnataka had approached Delhi HC after a trial court refused to grant him relief, saying that the probe is in its initial stage and the agency should get a fair chance.