Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate, in connection with the Delhi excise case, on Wednesday, 8 March. Shortly after receiving the summons, Kavitha issued a statement agreeing to "cooperate" with the ED.
However, she will "seek legal opinion" to decide her date of appearance before the central investigating agency. On 7 March, Kavitha's former aide and businessman Arun Pillai was arrested by the ED, in connection with the same case.
Kavitha Accuses Centre of Targeting Her
Before ED issued its summons, Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao had singed a statement, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the Centre of using its enforcement agencies to target leaders of Opposition parties. The statement was co-signed by other Opposition leaders and Chief Ministers including Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee, and Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar too had signed the statement.
The joint statement vociferously condemned the arrest of Delhi Deputy CM and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise case.
In her statement, which mirrored the allegations in the joint statement, Kavitha wrote on Wednesday:
"I would also like the ruling party at the Centre to know that these tactics of intimidation against the fight and voice of our leader, CM Shri KCR, and against the entire BRS party will not deter us. Under the leadership of KCR Garu, we will continue to fight to expose your failures and raise voice for a brighter and better future of India."
The statement also informed the public that the summons has asked her to appear before the ED on 9 March, a day before she was supposed to hold a "peaceful hunger strike demanding the BJP government to introduce and pass the Women's Reservation Bill." The strike was supposed to be held at Jantar Mantra in Delhi, on 10 March.
Kavitha further wrote:
"Let me also remind the power-mongers in Delhi that Telangana has never and will never bow before oppressive, anti-people regime. We will fearlessly and fiercely fight for the rights of the people."
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