Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy says income tax raid on JD(S) leaders politically motivated

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Thursday that the income tax raid on JD(S) leaders overseeing the electioneering of his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in Mandya and nephew Prajwal Revanna in Hassan was "politically motivated" and he would stage a demonstration against it in Bengaluru along with Congress leaders.

"I am going to stage a demonstration in Bengaluru. Let the whole nation see how the income tax department is being misused. These raids are politically motivated," a visibly upset Kumaraswamy told reporters in Mysuru.

The pre-dawn raids at 15 to 20 places triggered an angry backlash from Congress as well as JD(S) leaders.

More importantly, the raids were on people who were monitoring the electioneering of the two belonging to the Gowda family, including state minor irrigation minister C S Puttaraju and his nephew Ashok, who is a district Panchayat member in Mysuru.