The Congress Monday slammed the Union Government after the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at 10 to 12 locations in Chhattisgarh, including the residences of Congress MLAs and people connected to the party, as part of its investigation into the coal levy case. The raids come days ahead of the AICC’s plenary session in Raipur. According to sources, the premises of Congress leaders like Devendra Yadav, an MLA from Bhilai, State Congress treasurer Ram Gopal Agrawal, Girish Dewangan, R P Singh, Vinod Tiwari, and Sunny Agrawal in Raipur and Bhilai have been searched so far. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh and media department chairman Pawan Khera alleged that ED has become “eliminating democracy” and “exterminating democracy.” The Congress said ED had been on overdrive ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014. Khera said the agency had conducted 112 raids between 2004 and 2014 when the UPA was in power. In the last eight years, ED, he said, had conducted 3010 raids out of which 95 per cent had been targeted at Opposition politicians. Khera said ED had conducted raids targeting Congress leaders 24 times since 2014. While TMC leaders were targeted 19 times, NCP leaders were raided 11 times, Shiv Sena (8), DMK (6), BJD (6) RJD (5), BSP, (5), TDP (5), INLD (3), YSRCP (3), CPM( 2), National Conference and the PDP (2), AIADMK (1) and MNS (1). Khera said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had raided the premises connected to Himanta Biswa Sarma in connection with the multi-crore Saradha scam in 2014 but today he has become “fair and lovely” and the chief minister of Assam. “What happened to the cases against him as also against Suvendu Adhikari, B S Yeddyurappa, Reddy brothers, Mukul Roy… There are many names… They all have become brand ambassadors of fair and lovely,” he said. “We are also in power in some states… We will come to power in some states too…2024 is also coming… the weather will change…our advice to the Prime Minister and to the officials who have become puppets in his hands… is to consider our decency as our jewel and not our weakness…hum bhi kabhi aayenge…aur jahan hain wahan bhi kuchh dikha sakte hain,” Khera told reporters. 'भारत जोड़ो यात्रा' की सफलता से और अडानी की सच्चाई खुलने से भाजपा हताश है। यह छापा ध्यान भटकाने का प्रयास है। देश सच जानता है। हम लड़ेंगे और जीतेंगे। 2/2 — Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) February 20, 2023 Ramesh said the Congress would not be cowed down by the politics of intimidation. “We will fight it strongly….let there be raids…the Government doesn’t conduct raids where raids are needed…doesn't unleash the ED where it is needed.The revelations that are coming out with regard to Gautam Adani…the Prime Minister’s favourite industrialist….there is no investigation against him…no raids…the demand for a JPC has also been turned down,” he said. “This is clearly the politics of vendetta, politics of vengeance, politics of harassment…this is supposed to be a curtain raiser for the plenary session of the Congress… We are not afraid. We have nothing to hide. We will not be intimidated. Modi’s policy of FDI is fear, deceit and intimidation…this is his real FDI policy,” Ramesh said. "If anything these raids have increased our determination, a booster dose to be even more aggressive against the Prime Minister and his third-rate politics of vendetta, vengeance and harassment," Ramesh added.
