New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday made a sensational claim that an Enforcement Directorate raid was being planned against him after his “Chakravyuh” speech in Parliament recently. In a post on X, Mr Gandhi said he was “waiting with open arms”. Taking potshots at Rahul Gandhi, the BJP said that he was creating a new narrative to distract people from asking about his accountability as the MP from Wayanad following the devastating landslide tragedy there. The Opposition took it a step further and said the government was desperate and may plan an attack on Rahul Gandhi.
“Apparently, 2 in 1 didn’t like my Chakravyuh speech. ED ‘insiders’ tell me a raid is being planned. Waiting with open arms. @dir_ed…..Chai and biscuits on me,” wrote Mr Gandhi.
If true, this will not be the first time Mr Gandhi will face the ED. In June 2022, he was questioned by the ED for nearly 50 hours over a period of five days in a case related to National Herald. Mr Gandhi claimed that ED officials complimented him for his stamina, and said: “Don’t you get tired? We have got tired questioning you.”
A war of words erupted between the Congress and BJP members on Mr Gandhi’s claim. The Opposition parties underlined the alleged “misuse” of the probe agencies by the BJP. The BJP said Mr Gandhi was trying to distract people for his failure as the Wayanad representative. Mr Gandhi has already given up this seat to retain Rae Bareli and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be contesting from there on a Congress ticket.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Friday gave notice of an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha. “The Opposition condemns the BJP government's misuse of agencies like the ED, CBI, and income-tax department for political harassment. Despite their reduced number from 303 to 240 seats and the reliance on alliances with the TDP and JD-U, the government continues to deploy these agencies to intimidate Opposition leaders and force compliance, undermining democratic principles.” reads the notice.
“We all know that the BJP government of PM Modi has misused the agencies CBI, ED and IT in a big way in the last 10 years, to defame the Opposition leaders… After his ‘Chakravyuh’ speech in Parliament, the government wants to attack Rahul Gandhi. The government is putting pressure on the agencies to take action. We got to know through some source that government is conspiring to raid the residence of Rahul Gandhi. He has never been afraid of such threats and he has nothing to hide,” Mr Tagore later told the media.
“Not just Rahul Gandhi but all those who are raising their voices against the government to save the democracy, a conspiracy is being hatched against all of them. This conspiracy is being hatched in a foreign land… anything can happen, there could be attack on all of us, there could be an attack on Rahul Gandhi. Because, the way, in the last month, we all, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, have taken on the government, they have lost their sleep," said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Contradicting the Opposition claims, former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said Mr Gandhi has raised an imaginary issue to avoid questions related to Wayanad as the “local MP” was the last person to reach there.
“Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have perfected this strategy but whenever they are confronted with a tough set of questions or issues that they have no answers for, they try and wriggle out of it by creating a new narrative. Today he wants to wriggle out of the issue and scrutiny of Wayanad and his accountability and is creating these new narratives. He wants to be the centre of attention, he wants to be playing a victim card. This is nothing but a silly ham-handed effort by Rahul Gandhi to take the news story away from Wayanad and on to this make-believe, imaginary attempt by the ED on him… The fact of the matter is, if you look at any party in the INDIA alliance, everybody -- whether it is the DMK or Congress -- they are neck-deep in scams, in corruption, in looting and misusing public money. So, if the law catches up with them, they can't blame the law for catching up with them when they are the ones violating the law and indulging in corruption and loot for decades,” said Mr Chandrasekhar.
Union minister and BJP ally Lalan Singh was sharp in his take on the Leader of the Opposition's claim, saying that Mr Gandhi might have done something which he believes might result in such an action.
“If someone does no wrong, then why will anything happen," he told reporters.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister and MP Trivendra Singh Rawat quoted an idiom "chor ki dadhi main tinka" to say that if he has done nothing wrong, the Congress leader should not be worried. "It is evident that Rahul Gandhi is afraid due to his own deeds," Mr Rawat told a news agency when asked about Mr Gandhi's post.
