Supreme Court Dismisses DK Shivakumar's Plea, BJP Claims Congress Setback

The Supreme Court's rejection of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's plea against a CBI FIR for corruption has been labeled a significant setback for the Congress by the BJP. The CBI alleges that Shivakumar accumulated disproportionate assets from 2013 to 2018. The BJP criticized the Congress for maligning investigative agencies and playing the victim card.

The BJP on Monday described the Supreme Court's dismissal of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's plea challenging a CBI FIR in a corruption case as a significant setback for the Congress.

The CBI claims that Shivakumar amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2013 and 2018, a period during which he served as a minister in the previous Congress government.

Reacting to the verdict, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, 'A major defeat for the corrupt Congress. INC stands for I Need Corruption, not Indian National Congress.' He accused the Congress and other opposition members of the INDIA bloc, including the RJD and AAP, of baselessly attacking the CBI and other investigative agencies and argued they should cease playing the 'victim card.'

'With D K Shivakumar's plea dismissed, will they now blame the Supreme Court? Will they claim democracy is in jeopardy?' Poonawalla questioned. 'When the Supreme Court delivers a favorable verdict, they praise the judiciary; when not, they disparage the country's institutions. The Supreme Court has affirmed it will not quash the CBI's disproportionate assets case against Shivakumar,' he added.

The Supreme Court, while hearing Shivakumar's plea, decided not to interfere with the Karnataka High Court's October 19, 2023 order, which had dismissed his petition against the state government's sanction to the CBI to file the FIR. The high court had directed the CBI to complete its investigation and report within three months.

(With inputs from agencies.)