Responding to the objections raised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA S Suresh Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday, August 8, pointed out that senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Yediyurappa also had attended advocates' conferences in the past despite having cases against him. The Deputy CM was reacting to the protest by Suresh, who had questioned his presence at the 10th State Level Advocates’ Conference organised by the Karnataka State Bar Council (KSBC).
“What about when Yediyurappa was Chief Minister? He had cases against him but he was still invited for these programmes. What was Suresh Kumar doing when Yeddiyurappa was invited?” DK Shivakumar further noted that he had been invited to several judge’s daughters’ weddings but had not attended any of them.
On Sunday, August 6, BJP MLA and former Minister S Suresh Kumar wrote to the Karnataka High Court, objecting to DK Shivakumar’s presence at the conference. The MLA asked whether judges from the Supreme Court and High Court can share the stage with DK Shivakumar, who has several pending cases against him.
In his letter, Suresh said, “I am surprised that even DK Shivakumar will be part of the event. I remember an incident of being enquired about whether there were any criminal cases pending against all the guests who were sharing the dais with the Chief Justice. I was the law minister then but that was a different matter because there was no case pending against me.”
The State Level Advocates’ Conference is taking place on August 12 in Mysuru. Karnataka Law Minister HK Patil, and several judges from the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court are expected to attend the event.