Rahul Gandhi says govt ‘planning ED raid’, BJP calls it ‘bid to distract’ from Wayanad

Claiming that the raid is being planned as his speech on Budget was not “liked by two in one”, Gandhi posted on X early Friday: “Apparently, two in one didn’t like my Chakravyuh speech. ED ‘insiders’ tell me a raid is being planned… Waiting with open arms, Enforcement Directorate… chai and biscuits on me.”

Reacting to Gandhi’s allegations, BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the senior Congress leader was creating a new narrative to distract people from the scrutiny of the massive landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad and his accountability as the MP there.

“This is nothing but Rahul Gandhi trying to move the spotlight away from the growing scrutiny of the Wayanad disaster and his role as the MP there. This is a silly attempt to make himself and fake victimhood the story,” the BJP leader wrote on X. “Distracting people with absurd statements and lies is at the heart of Rahul-Congress strategy, but that’s become obvious.”

However, several Opposition parties on Friday rallied behind Gandhi and targeted the BJP for “misusing the Central agencies”.

Congress MP and Whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore on Friday moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, seeking an urgent discussion on the misuse of Central agencies.

In his letter to Speaker Om Birla, Tagore said: “The Opposition condemns the BJP government’s misuse of agencies like the ED, CBI and Income Tax for political harassment… Despite the dip in their strength from 303 to 240 seats as well as reliance on alliances with the TDP and JEM, the government continues to deploy these (Central) agencies to intimidate opposition leaders and force compliance, undermining democratic principles.”

Tagore further said that “this misuse of state power is unacceptable as it threatens the integrity of our institutions”. “We demand an immediate cessation of these practices, and call for respect for democratic norms and autonomy of our agencies. The health of our democracy depends on impartial governance and fair political engagement,” said the three-time MP from Virudhnagar in Tamil Nadu.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh said that the Centre intends to put the ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Gandhi because he was trying to expose the NDA government during his speech in Parliament.

Addressing the media on Friday, Singh said: “The ED and CBI are working as (government) agencies to shut the voice of the Opposition and bring down their governments. I would tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he needs to understand that times have changed. He has reached 240, and if he continues like this, he will reach even 24 and two.”