BENGALURU: The 44 Gujarat Congress MLAs who have been holed up in a resort on the outskirts of the city, met Governor Vajubhai Vala on Saturday morning. They were accompanied by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Bharatsinh Solanki.
The MLAs were joined unexpectedly by embattled Karnataka Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, who had been sequestered in his house for the past three days by Income Tax officials who concluded their search on Saturday morning. After the I-T officials left his residence, Shivakumar visited a temple and met a seer in Vijayanagar area. He then headed to Raj Bhavan to join the Gujarat legislators and was received with much cheer from the group. Shivakumar, who sported a nonchalant look, refused to speak to the media about the raids.
Speaking to the media, Gujarat MLA and party spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said the governor received them warmly and had assured them there was nothing to worry about. “We have been subjected to so much threat and pressure. But we will not succumb to it. The BJP wants to spread an atmosphere of fear. A politician and businessman takes care of us and he is subjected to three days of raids and questioning, which is unheard of.
“The message BJP is sending is that if you give even a glass of water to these MLAs, then we are coming after you. If the case is indeed old, as they are claiming, then why could they not have waited for another three days?” he questioned.
Gohil further said the raids were not as simple as being claimed. “If they were only interested in questioning him (Shivakumar), then why did they come to the resort and search? They could have asked him to step out and he could have been taken to his residence. If he did not come out of the resort, then they had a reason to come in. But the manner in which they entered the resort and searched the rooms tells us they are trying to scare us, but they will not succeed. Imagine what they would have done to us if we had stayed in Gujarat,” he said.
The group, led by Shivakumar, later left for Vidhana Soudha after visiting the Mahatma Gandhi statue and were taken on a leisurely tour of the seat of power.