Cong protests, slams ED bid to pressurise officer to name K'taka CM, Dy CM in tribal Board case

Bengaluru, July 23 (IANS) Karnataka Congress legislators staged a protest on Tuesday against the Enforcement Directorate (ED), condemning its alleged bid to pressurise an officer to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar and former Minister B Nagendra in the irregularities in the tribal Board.

The Congress held the protest before Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha opposing ED officials who harassed the Board's former Managing Director (MD), B Kallesh, to name the CM and Dy CM in the case.

The Congress MLAs who had gathered in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue held placards and raised slogans against the Centre and slammed the central agency ED for “becoming a puppet in the hands of the Union government.”

The Congress MLAs also demanded resignations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly using the ED, CBI and IT Department against Opposition parties.

The Karnataka Police had on Monday registered an FIR against the two ED officers investigating the tribal Board case at the Wilson Garden Police Station in Bengaluru.

The FIR against the two ED officers was based on a police complaint filed by B Kallesh, the former MD of the Board and incumbent Additional Director in the Social Welfare Department.

"The ED officials had threatened Kallesh with arrest and subjected him to mental torture to confess that former Minister B Nagendra, higher government authorities and the state Finance Department had directed him to deposit money into the MG Road Bank. The ED said they would help him if he agreed to their statement," the FIR said.

The Finance Department is held by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 3 (5), 351 (2) and 352.

Last Thursday, the Karnataka Congress unit said that the ED was forcing the accused to name Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in the case to destabilise the state government.

"We have accurate information that the ED is trying to force and pressurise the accused to take the names of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in the Tribal Welfare Board case," Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had said while addressing a joint press conference with Priyank Kharge, KJ George, Krishna Byre Gowda and Santhosh Lad in Bengaluru, a few days ago.

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