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BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement’s recent raids at the educational institutions belonging to Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara has queered the pitch for the state government. Union

Minister HD Kumaraswamy prodded the Congress by saying a ‘powerful’ leader within the party was responsible for Parameshwara’s plight. HDK also alleged that the ‘powerful leader’ tipped off

enforcement authorities about actress Ranya Rao’s gold smuggling. Further, citing Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Kumaraswamy said the Congress leaders themselves had turned informants against

their own party leaders for the ED. Sources said that HDK’s charges then would mean that some of the leaders within the Congress are in touch with the leaders of their rival parties. “If

that’s true, the Congress leaders proved to be influential on the ED, an independent investigation agency”, taunted RDPR and IT Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday. According to sources

during Thursday’s cabinet meeting held by Siddaramaiah the issue was raised and the party has decided to stand by Parameshwara. Social welfare minister Dr. HC Mahadevappa took strong

exception to DCM DK Shivakumar while talking to media, just before the cabinet meeting, ‘ascertaining’ that the educational trust belonging to Parameshwara ‘gifting’ some Rs 40 lakh to Ranya

Rao, the sources added. Shivakumar had met Parameshwara hours before attending the cabinet and had issued the statement in the meantime that did not go down well among the cabinet

ministers. But Shivakumar defended that he, as the KPCC president, was forced to reply to the queries of the media over the issue. The party high command, after ascertaining the facts about

the Ranya Rao case and subsequent ED raids, has took a decision to stand by Parameshwara. Evidently the AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala issued a

statement and, later, Siddaramaiah and other leaders followed suit. Parameshwara, who held the KPCC president’s post for a record eight years and led the party to power in 2013, has earned

the sympathies of the high command, observed a Congress leader. It may be recalled here that when the alleged MUDA scam surfaced HD Kumaraswamy had pointed fingers at the ‘influential

leader’ in the Congress for the expose. Even in the alleged honey trap attempt on K N Rajanna, Cooperation Minister, the Opposition had raised the issue on the floor of the House.