Disproportionate assets case: Will accept court's verdict, says K'taka Dy CM Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday said that he will accept the court's verdict as "God's will" in the disproportionate assets.

The High Court is likely to pronounce judgment on Thursday in the case.

"In the case of disproportionate assets, whatever the court's verdict may be, I will accept it as God's will," said Shivakumar while talking to the media questions near Hebbanahalli in Hassan district after inspecting the Yettinahole project work.

When asked about the case wherein the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a petition in the High Court seeking permission to investigate the disproportionate assets case, he maintained, "I have faith in God and in the judiciary."

The CBI has questioned the Congress government’s decision to withdraw the consent given to investigate the disproportionate case against Shivakumar by the Yediyurappa-headed BJP government on September 25, 2019. BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal had also filed a petition in this regard.

The division bench headed by Justice Somashekar has reserved the matter for an order. The matter has also been listed for this day and the court is likely to pronounce its verdict by evening.

When asked about the complaint filed against CM Siddaramaiah's wife, Shivakumar responded, "I don't know why everyone is attacking CM Siddaramaiah. Nothing will happen to him. The BJP itself has given land as compensation for the land they lost. The CM has not influenced anything or signed any documents."

When asked about Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's allegations regarding the denotification of land, he retorted, "I will not respond to the copy, only to the original."

Speaking on the Yettinahole Lift Irrigation Project, Shivakumar stated, "On Wednesday evening, a trial run of the Yettinahole Lift Irrigation Project was conducted. This project will benefit 7.5 million people across seven districts, including parts of Tumakuru, Chikkamagaluru, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, and Ramanagara.

Currently, 550 cusecs of water are being pumped. In the future, six times this amount will be pumped. The water being lifted now is being directed to the Vanivilas (Marikanive) Reservoir. By the end of the monsoon, we need to lift a certain amount of water. This project stands as evidence that the Congress government delivers on its promises," he said.

"There is some issue with the acquisition of forest department land, which will be resolved as quickly as possible. Alternative land has already been provided to the forest department in many places," he added.

"This is one of our government's ambitious projects. All the MLAs and representatives from the concerned districts will be invited for the inauguration. A grand inauguration event will be organised, inviting thousands of people to witness it. Instead of everyone gathering in one place, the programme will be organised to launch the project at key locations. The event will be broadcast live. Many people criticized this project, but today, the criticism has died down, and only the work remains. All departments and representatives from all parties who supported this project will be invited," he said.

"From the labourers digging the soil to the engineers, everyone has done an excellent job. The water travels through a tunnel that is about one and a half kilometres long. Farmers have cooperated by giving up their land. We must express our gratitude to everyone. The inauguration date will be finalised after discussing it with the Chief Minister," he said.

"Since I inspected the work on Wednesday evening in the dark, I couldn’t observe everything properly. Therefore, I stayed back to inspect it again. I also provided some guidance to the officials. We discussed about organising the inauguration and where it should take place," he said.