18 parties to participate in hunger strike in Delhi tomorrow: Telangana leader K Kavitha

New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha on Thursday said that a hunger strike will be held in the national capital on March 10 and that 18 political parties have said that they will participate in the protest launched to seek introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill in the current session of Parliament.

The BRS leader also said that she will face Enforcement Directorate as she has not done anything wrong. Addressing a press conference here Kavitha, who received summons from the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the Delhi excise police case said that if a woman has to be interrogated by a central agency, then as per law, she has a "fundamental right" to be questioned at her home.

"We released a poster on March 2 about the hunger strike in Delhi over the Women's Reservation Bill. 18 parties confirmed their participation...ED summoned me on March 9. I requested for March 16 but don't know what haste they're in, so I agreed for March 11."

"When an agency wants to interrogate a woman, she has a fundamental right that it be done at her home," she stated.
"So, I requested ED that they can come to my house on 11th March to investigate but they said that I will have to come to them," the BRS leader said.

Kavitha arrived in Delhi today and said that she will be appearing before the Enforcement Directorate on March 11.
In a series of tweets, BRS MLS had hit out, alleging that certain political motives have been masquerading in the name of investigation.

"As a law-abiding citizen, I'll fully cooperate with investigating agencies. I will appear at your good offices on March 11," she had said in a statement.

"...I have been summoned by ED to appear on March 9th in Delhi. However, due to the Dharna and prefixed appointments, I'll see legal opinions on the date of attending it," BRS MLC K Kavitha had stated.

"I fail to understand as to why I have been summoned at such short notice. It seems that certain political motives have been masquerading in the name of investigation. I categorically say that I have nothing to do with the present investigation," she had said in a subsequent tweet.

"Being a social worker and having prior commitments, I had already planned my schedule for the upcoming week & the abrupt rejection of my request seems to be motivated by reasons best known to you, which demonstrates that it is nothing but political victimisation," she had tweeted.

On March 8, the BRS came down heavily on the Centre after the ED summoned Kavitha in connection with its ongoing probe of the Delhi excise policy case, saying that the central probe agencies have become an extended arm of the BJP.
Referring to the summons as "politically motivated", BRS leader Ravula Sridhar Reddy had said that except ED and BJP, nobody really understands the case registered in connection with the new-withdrawn new Delhi excise policy. (ANI)