Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar asked to appear before Enforcement Directorate

Bengaluru, Sep 15: The Enforcement Directorate has issued summons to Karnataka Congress leader, D K Shivakumar to appear before the agency. He has said that he is ready to cooperate with the agency.

He however added that the timing of the summons is coming in the way of him discharging his constitutional and political duties. "In the midst of the #BharatJodoYatra and the assembly session, they have again issued me an ED summon to appear. I am ready to cooperate but the timing of this summon and the harassment I am put through, is coming in the way of discharging my constitutional and political duties," Shivakumar said on Twitter.

Shivakumar earlier this week launched a campaign titled '40 per cent Sarkara: BJP means Brashtrachara,' to protest the alleged corruption prevailing in the state.

The ED had filed a chargesheet against Shivakumar in the case on May 26. "From the material which has come on record, statements under Section 50 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), there is sufficient material on record to take cognisance of the offence under section 3 (offence of money laundering) read with section 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the PMLA as all the accused persons knowingly assisted pursuant to criminal conspiracy in the concealment possession of proceeds of crime i.e. unaccounted cash or in projecting it as their lawful business income," the Special Court had said.

Shivakumar and others were investigated following a complaint that he as a minister had amassed a huge amount of illegal wealth and that the same was amassed when he was minister. It was also alleged that the wealth was hidden away through a criminal conspiracy along with his associates. The conspiracy involved tax evasion and storing of cash in Delhi, the ED had alleged.