Sonia Gandhi meets Shivakumar in Tihar jail in a gesture of solidarity

The Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday (October 23) morning met Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar in Tihar jail and enquired about his well being.

According to sources, Gandhi was accompanied by Congress general secretary Ambika Soni. The message behind Gandhi’s meet was to say that the party was firmly behind the two senior politicians — DK Shivakumar and former finance minister P Chidambaram.

Delhi: Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi leaves from Tihar Jail after meeting Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is currently lodged in the jail under judicial custody, in connection with a money laundering case. https://t.co/ZWBTDI9UyQ pic.twitter.com/zLGKQDJ9fm

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2019

“The meet was to convey the message that the party will stand firmly with both the leaders and they have been targeted by the Central’s agencies,” Hindustan Times quoted a senior Congress leader as saying.

The meet comes in the backdrop of former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy from the Janata Dal Secular turning up at Tihar to meet Shivakumar.

Shivakumar, 57, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 3 in a money laundering case. He is lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody. Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA in Karnataka, was booked along with Haumanthaiah — an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi — and others for alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The case was based on a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax (I-T) Department against them last year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores or rupees.

It is to be noted that, Gandhi was at Tihar last month to visit former minister P Chidambaram who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the INX Media case.

(With inputs from agencies)