BJP National General Secretary C T Ravi on Monday said D K Shivakumar should cooperate with the CBI in its investigation as the central probe agency searched multiple premises in connection with a corruption case related to the Congress' state unit chief and his brother.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has till now recovered Rs 50 lakh from 14 locations in Karnataka, Delhi and Maharashtra it has searched in the case that pertains to amassing of disproportionate assets, officials said.
Following the raids, the Congress' Karnataka unit has accused the BJP of using the CBI as an electoral weapon.
However, Ravi, a former Karnataka minister, said, "The CBI is doing its work. If the Congress leader is clean, he should cooperate and tell the truth."
He also sought to know if D K Shivakumar's economic growth was natural as his assets grew from Rs 75 crore in 2008 to Rs 250 crore in 2013 and Rs 840 crore in 2018.
"You can respond to political issues standing in the street, but about illegal acquisition of money or illegal transfer of money, one has to respond to CBI or ED," the BJP leader said.
"There is no problem in making assets, but one needs to reveal the source of the money. If crores of rupees is kept in the name of his daughter who is still studying, he ought to respond to the CBI," Ravi added.
The CBI has registered a fresh case against the Congress leader based on source information from another agency. The information relates to assets amassed during Shivakumar's tenure as a minister in Karnataka, officials said.
Following the registration of FIR, CBI teams started searches on Monday morning at 14 locations -- nine in Karnataka, four in Delhi and one in Mumbai.
According to sources, places that are being searched include properties of Shivakumar's brother and MP from Bengaluru Rural D K Suresh.