BJP wants to get rid of opposition: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge
New Delhi:
A day after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was raided and later arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Patra Chawl land scam, Congress leaders condemned the probe agency’s action against him and accused the BJP of playing “politics of threat”. charged up.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury extended his support to Sanjay Raut and called him a “man of conviction and courage”.
He tweeted, “Sanjay Raut has committed only one crime that he has not bowed down to intimidation politics of BJP party. He is a man of conviction and courage. We are with Sanjay Raut.”
sole offense #SanjayRout Committed that he does not succumb to the politics of intimidation and intimidation of the BJP party. He is a man of strong faith and courage. We are with Sanjay Raut.
— Adhir Choudhary (@adhirrcinc) 1 August 2022
Reacting to Raut’s arrest, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that his party is concerned about the misuse of central agencies to selectively target opposition leaders.
Tharoor said, “Government institutions are not meant to serve a political purpose.”
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the action was taken against Mr Raut because the BJP wants to get rid of the opposition.
“The BJP opposition wants a free Parliament, so action has been taken against Sanjay Raut,” Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Kharge said, “Sanjay Raut runs a party and a newspaper and if Rs 11 lakh has been received from his house, then the ED has made a case against him on the basis of it, he is being harassed.”
Mr Raut’s house was searched for most part of Sunday by ED officials after he refused to appear for questioning despite being summoned twice.
He was then taken to the ED’s zonal office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai.
The Rajya Sabha MP was arrested at midnight after hours of questioning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Before entering the ED office, Mr Raut had claimed that the federal agency’s action was aimed at trying to weaken the Shiv Sena and a “false” case had been prepared against him.