Karnataka Elections 2023: Commercial tax officials raid BJP MLC R Shankar’s office and residence ahead of state polls

The raid on BJP MLC R Shankar’s office and residence ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections was conducted under the leadership of Haveri Commercial Tax Commissioner Sivakumar. (Representative Image)

Commercial tax officials on Tuesday raided the residence and office of the former minister and BJP MLC R Shankar in Karnataka’s Haveri district. The team seized items included more than 6,000 sarees, over 9,000 school and college bags and plates, and household items worth around Rs 30-40 lakh.

The raid comes just ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections amid allegations that R Shankar was trying to lure voters before the elections. R Shankar’s loyalists and followers also reportedly protested in front of Shankar’s residence, as reported by News18.

The raid was conducted under the leadership of Haveri Commercial Tax Commissioner Sivakumar.

Meanwhile, official sources told PTI that the Sivakumar has been asked to check the bills of the items and submit a report to the state government. Tax officials are likely to file a case if Shankar fails to provide bills for the items found at the properties linked to him, they said.

Shankar, on the other hand, has alleged that the raid was part of a conspiracy against him and the items found at his place were for distribution to people as part of charity work that he has been doing for several years now, and has nothing to do with the Assembly polls.

"I've been doing this charity work with my own money by selling my property. There is no ill-gotten money in this. I have documents and bills for everything. Without GST, no materials are sold these days, as you are aware," PTI reported.

Shankar was elected to be the MLA from Ranebennur in the 2018 Assembly election from Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Party. He subsequently supported the Congress-JDS coalition government.

Later, he decided to back the BJP during the political turmoil in the state that led to the collapse of the coalition government, following the defection of several Congress and JD(S) MLAs. He was one among the legislators who were disqualified following the defection.

Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections are just around the corner. In the last Assembly elections in 2018, the BJP-led NDA alliance won 104 seats and formed the government with Basavaraj Bommai becoming the 17th Chief Minister of Karnataka.

(Inputs from PTI and News18)