Bengaluru, Aug. 30 (UNI)- D.K. Shivakumar, Karnataka Congress’ chief trouble-shooter and former Minister, will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi this afternoon in connection with a money-laundering case. The probe agency called him again last night after his petition challenging the summons was rejected by the Karnataka High Court yesterday.

“Please don’t take tension, I have not taken tension, there is no need to take tension. I have not committed any mistake. I have not committed any rape or taken money, there is nothing against me,” Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru this morning, adding he is being targeted.

The Enforcement Directorate registered a money-laundering case against Shivakumar and a few others in September last year for alleged tax evasion and illegal transactions worth crores. Shivakumar has approached the Karnataka High Court’s Division Bench against yesterday’s order that rejected his petition against the probe agency’s summons.

Shivakumar, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi and others were named in the case. “From the past two years, the entire property of my 84-year-old mother has been attached by various investigation authorities as benami property and I am the benami there. Our entire blood has already been sucked,” he told reporters.

D.K. Shivakumar tweeted this morning that he received the Enforcement Agency’s summons at 9.40 last night. “Although the sudden scheduling by ED is malafide, I believe in rule of law and will definitely participate and fully co-operate with them and abide by the law of our country,” he wrote on Twitter.

He also alleged that the Income Tax Department’s search and seizure operation carried out at his home and properties owned by him and his associates in August 2017 was politically motivated.

“I’ve requested the Court that it’s a simple Income Tax matter. I’ve already filed ITR. There’s no Prevention of Money Laundering Act. I-T raid on me was politically motivated for hosting Gujarat Congress MLAs. As a loyal soldier of Congress and a responsible politician, I did what party asked me to do, for which I am being targeted. I have full faith in legal systems and will face this legally as well as politically,” Shivakumar added.

Shivakumar’s counsel, B.V. Acharya, this morning, moved the High Court seeking interim protection for Shivakumar from the ED until he could appeal the High Court’s decision to dismiss his plea to quash the summons.

The Enforcement Directorate’s counsel, M.B. Nargund filed objections to Shivakumar’s plea and requested the Court to dismiss it. “How can we proceed after dismissing the plea? Why can’t you place your request before the ED?” Justice Arvind Kumar questioned B.V. Acharya. The Court, however, rejected Shivakumar’s plea today afternoon.