Prepared to cooperate: Karnatak Home Minister Parameshwara after ED raids educational institutions linked to him

The probe agency searched the educational institutions on Thursday morning for the second day in a row.

Speaking about the search operations by ED, Parameshwara informed that the probe agency visited Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Siddhartha Medical College at Tumkur, Siddhartha Medical College at Begur and Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education yesterday.

The Karnataka Home Minister said that he has instructed the institution's staff to cooperate with the probing agency.

"Yesterday, ED officers visited our institutions--Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Siddhartha Medical College at Tumkur, Siddhartha Medical College at Begur and Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education. I instructed my staff to cooperate with them and give whatever information they asked for...They questioned our accounts section. The search is still going on," G Parameshwara said.

"Being a person who believes in the law of the country, whatever comes out of the verification or search, I am prepared to cooperate," he said.

Parameshwara refused to comment when asked about the reports linking these searches to the Actor Ranya Rao gold smuggling case.

"I don't what to comment at this point of time. Let the investigation be completed," he said.

Ranya Rao was arrested on March 3 at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport after officials from the DRI found her carrying gold. On Tuesday, the Economic Offences Court granted conditional bail to the Kannada actor in the smuggling case.

Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the party strongly condemned the raids by the Directorate of Enforcement on the Karnataka Home Minister.

Ramesh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government of doing politics of "harassment, vendetta, and intimidation."

In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh posted, "The INC condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the ED raids on the Home Minister of Karnataka. Dr G Parameshwara is one of the country's senior-most political leaders who has made great contributions to the cause of education, particularly in the weaker sections of society."

"The ED actions undertaken at the behest of the PM himself reflect the politics of harassment, vendetta, and intimidation of which he is the master. The BJP is clearly nervous and worried by the achievements of the Karnataka government over the past two years. We will not be silenced. We will continue to hold the PM to account for his multiple failures on multiple fronts," he said.