Congress MLA DK Shivakumar and his brother and Congress MP DK Suresh claimed that the BJP was using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conspire against them in an emergency press conference called on Thursday morning.
Shivakumar is credited as the man who kept the JD(S) and Congress MLAs together after a fractured mandate in the Assembly elections sparked a game of horse-trading and resort politics in the state earlier this month.
He claimed that he had heard from reliable sources that the CBI has applied for a search warrant against him. “The CBI has applied for a search warrant and at 11 am it will be granted. The warrant is against me, my brother and nine other associates,” DK Shivakumar said speaking to reporters.
He revealed that the BJP's central leaders were hounding him and his brother to leave the Congress and jump ship to the BJP. “The BJP central leadership has been hounding my brother and I to join their party. We have never been scared of their threats and never will be. We will fight this legally. The central agencies must keep in mind that they should not give into political pressure,” DK Shivakumar added.
He also said that he won't be intimidated by the threat and will fight the issue legally. “We are not scared of any of these threats. There is no way they can make us bow down to their demands. Once we came into the political field, we have also been smart enough to know what they will throw at us and how to handle it,” he said.
He also added that he was shocked when he heard of the news on Wednesday. "In the past too they have filed false cases against us and we have fought it. This is not a new tactic. They are just following the old method. Remember that no government is permanent. Not even us. They have given you certain respect so don’t be a puppet in their hands and cause harm to others," he said in apparent reference to the CBI.