New Delhi: With Central investigative agencies breathing down the neck of senior Congress leaders, the party has decided to hit back. Terming the raids and searches as “revenge and vicious political vendetta” the Congress is planning to hit back at the BJP. The party said that there were serious allegations against some BJP chief ministers and also against serving Cabinet ministers, but these were not being properly followed up. Investigating agencies are acting at the behest of their political masters, the Congress alleged.
The CBI had conducted raids on Tuesday at the premises of senior Congress leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram’s residence and also at the residence of his son Karti Chidambaram. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) then filed a money laundering case against Karti on Friday.
“It is strange that out of 34 politicians the ED is probing, 30 belong to Opposition parties. This certainly shows that there is an agenda of the ruling party which is playing itself out,” a Congress leader said. The Congress plans to get other Opposition parties, who have been “targeted” by the agencies, on board so that a broader alliance can be formed. The Congress senior leadership has already spoken to leaders of the Trinamool Congress, the RJD and other smaller parties.
The Congress is also looking to ensure that allegations and cases which are pending against BJP leaders and ministers are raised bothe politically and legally. If the investigating agencies don’t take the cases seriously, Congress leaders said that the Opposition would go to court with public interest litigations.
The party is also planning to corner the government regarding constant “raids on opposition leaders” inside Parliament.
Many in the Congress feel that the constant barrage of allegations and investigations against its leaders have dented the party’s image, which was already bruised after several alleged scams which took place under the UPA government. Now, the Congress cadres are also being made aware of these charges against BJP leaders, so that they can also create a narrative in their respective areas.
