DK Shivakumar says he braved PM Modi, Amit Shah when jailed; fears none

D K Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, on Saturday (December 13) said he feared none as he has braved Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah even when he was in jail.

The 63-year-old firebrand chief of the state Congress unit said this while speaking with representatives of Bengaluru Apartment Associations in the city at an event. It was organised at the Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha (the seat of the state legislature) regarding the Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2025, which will be applicable across the five Bengaluru City Corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority.

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Shivakumar said he always wanted to help the apartment owners in the city to solve their problems, but no one would be able to deter him with a voting bloc.

'Don't know who I am'

“I think some people don't know who I am. I returned from jail without getting scared by the Prime Minister and Home Minister of this country. Will I be afraid of someone called Hebbar?” he said.

The deputy CM’s assertion was in response to the warning by Kiran Hebbar, an office bearer of the association.

Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, read out the letter by Hebbar: “We, the Apartment Owners' Association waiting patiently for many years for the amendment to be passed. Waiting another two-and-a-half years for it is unacceptable. The Congress party had promised us. We represent a significant voting bloc, influence approximately 1.3 crore people of Bengaluru, of the 1.5 crore population.”

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He further wrote, “We hope that our collective voice will be heard and acted upon. As a community, we have been neglected by the successive ruling parties, and we have nothing to lose by continuing to wait. However, we caution the ruling party to consider our request since the GBA election is round the corner.”

Shivakumar said one should have basic common sense while addressing. He said he was there to help people.

'Can't warn this government'

“But you can’t warn this government, whoever he is. I, too, have basic common sense. Warning me and cautioning me? Whom are you doing this with? What’s the obligation to invite you? We respect the human relationship, your efforts and its outcome. Gandhi had said if you want to control yourself, use your brain. If you want to control others, use your heart. I use my heart to control," Shivakumar said.

The Deputy CM said the Congress had not made any promise. Instead, the 18 MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party who were elected from Bengaluru made the promise.

Shivakumar was arrested and jailed in 2019

Shivakumar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in September 2019 in a money-laundering case. He was lodged in Tihar Jail from where he was released in October the same year after the Delhi High Court granted him bail. In December 2021, he said he was sent to jail since he did not agree to go with the BJP.

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Shivakumar said he was elected to the Assembly eight times and had defeated the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka, with a victory margin of 1.23 lakh in the previous Assembly election.

'I loved people, people loved me'

“I won with a record margin because I loved people and people loved me. Your warnings won't work on me,” the DCM said.

“I am telling you that you can’t play a game with me as you do with others. We have more brain power than you, but we are still on the ground. That's why I called you because we want your voice to become our voice,” he added.

He said he, too, has built thousands of apartments and given land for thousands of apartments.

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"I am a resident of Bengaluru, and I own a lot of properties in Bengaluru. You should know how to behave with people," Shivakumar said.

The deputy CM is reportedly in the middle of a power struggle with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over a potential change of leadership in the state.

Both leaders were set to take part in a protest against alleged “vote chori” in New Delhi on Sunday (December 14).

(With Agency inputs)