Bengaluru, March 30 : The Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, D.K. Shivakumar, claimed on Saturday that the BJP government at the Centre is tormenting the opposition leaders out of the fear of defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to reporters here, the state Congress chief said, 'The case against me is closed, yet the Income Tax Department sent me a notice last night. There are many BJP leaders and central ministers from Karnataka who are facing charges, but no investigation has been ordered nor notices have been served against them. The BJP is targeting only the opposition leaders."

Commenting on the I-T Department freezing Congress' bank accounts, Shivakumar said, "The BJP is targeting the opposition parties, especially the Congress and the Left, as it knows that it is going to lose the elections.

"We are a democracy, yet the BJP is hounding the opposition parties through I-T officials. But nothing is permanent in politics. The BJP is resorting to such actions as it knows that the INDIA bloc will come to power after the elections."

/IANS