Centre Does Not Interfere In Working Of Probe Agencies: G Kishan Reddy

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday hit back at BRS leader K Kavitha for her charge that the BJP-led Centre was "using" the ED to target leaders at the time of elections, saying she is being investigated in connection with a "scam" and that the government does not interfere in the functioning of probe agencies.

K Kavitha -- daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao -- has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy scam case.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader at a presser attacked the BJP government at the Centre, alleging it of using the investigation agencies to target political parties and leaders who do not subscribe to its ideology. Since last June, the central government has been constantly sending agencies such as the ED to Telangana, she alleged.

The BJP leader at a press conference asked "If you (Kavitha) are innocent, why did you destroy cell phones in Delhi?" and alleged that "All your business friends have destroyed phones, 10-10 phones each have been destroyed, (you) answer that first".

Mr Reddy said the court will decide on the case. "(Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji has a lot of work, he is busy working for the nation. Probing a scam is the job of the agencies. We did not ask the CBI or ED to issue notices. If you have done something wrong, you will be caught," he said.

The Union minister said different people are found to be involved in the "liquor scam of the Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government". "This is the national capital, in which the AAP has openly looted thousands of crores (of rupees)," the Union tourism minister said.

"Some people are in jail. The CM's daughter has also been given a notice. She had requested for another date because she was participating in a protest over the women's reservation bill and she was given another date," Mr Reddy said.

Citing her demonstration in Delhi for passage of the bill in Parliament on March 10, 44-year-old Kavitha Kalvakuntla, who is a MLC, had requested the ED to defer her appearance before it from March 9. The agency has summoned her on March 11 to depose before it the case.

The BJP has nothing to do with the notice to the BRS leader, Mr Reddy said and added that "we don't interfere in functioning of investigating agencies". "Notice has been issued as part of the investigation," he asserted.

The Union minister alleged that people in Telangana are against the BRS government and in the next assembly election, it will not bag any seats.

"Today, the public of Telangana has decided that the BRS will not win the next election. KCR (Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao) will not win the next assembly election. The people of Telangana have decided that this 'Nizam Raj' and dictatorship has to end," he said.

Polls in the southern state are due later this year.

The chief minister's daughter will demonstrate for the passage of the women's reservation bill, then why for the past five years there have been no women ministers in the state, Mr Reddy asked.

"What right do you have to ask for women's reservation? You are just telling us stories," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)