This is 'undeclared emergency', Enforcement Directorate 'Exterminating Democracy': Congress on ED raids on its leaders in Chattisgarh

The Congress slammed the government after the ED conducted raids against its party leaders in Chhattisgarh on Monday saying it was an example of thirdrate politics of vendetta vengeance and harassment and asserted that it will not be intimidated by such tacticsThis is not Amrit Kaal but an undeclared emergency Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said at a joint press conference with party spokesperson Pawan Khera and termed the Enforcement Directorate as Exterminating DemocracyED conducted searches at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh including at premises linked to Congress party leaders as part of an ongoing investigation into the coal levy money laundering case officials saidThe raids come days before the plenary session of the Congress party from February 2426 in the state capital Raipur The state is ruled by the party under Chief Minister Bhupesh BaghelAlso readWill seek death penalty for 11 Godhra train burning convicts Gujarat tells SCIf anything these raids have increased our determination If anything these raids have given us a booster dose to be even more aggressive against the Prime Minister and his thirdrate politics of vengeance vendetta and harassment Ramesh told reportersCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the ED action and said 95 per cent of the raids conducted by ED in the last 9 years are against opposition leaders and most are against Congress leadersThe raid on our Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh by the Modi government by misusing the ED shows the cowardice of the BJP before the Congress plenary session in Raipur We are not going to be cowed down by these cowardly threats he claimedUneasiness of the BJP is visible due to the immense success of Bharat Jodo Yatra If Modi ji has even an iota of honesty then he should order raids on the megascams of his best friend We will strongly face this attempt to crush democracy Kharge said in a tweet in HindiChhattisgarh chief minister Baghel said the raids are an attempt to divert attention ahead of the partys plenary session and would not be able to break the spirits of our leaders engaged in preparations for the sessionHe said ED has raided the houses of many of my colleagues including the treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee the former vicepresident of the party and an MLAFour days later the Congress convention will be held in Raipur You cannot break our spirits by stopping our comrades engaged in preparations like this The BJP is frustrated with the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra and the truth of Adani being exposed This raid is an attempt to divert attention The country knows the truth We will fight and win Baghel saidRamesh alleged that the probe agencies are being misused by the present regime and said the new name of ED is Exterminating Democracy while Khera said it stands for Eliminating DemocracyHe said where raids are supposed to happen they do not take place especially on the scams involving Gautam Adani and where the law has been violated Raids may continue to happen and it will not deter us he claimedThis is clearly the politics of vendetta politics of vengeance politics of harassment and this is supposed to be the curtain raiser for the 85th session of the Congress We are not afraid and we have nothing to hide We will not be intimidated Mr Modis policy of FDI is fear deceit and intimidation and we will not be afraid or intimidated by such actions the Congress general secretary saidKhera saidour advice is that the government should not forget that we are also in power in some states and our decency should not be considered as a weakness and warned the officials to be aware that the party will return to power soon and will deal with themWe are not going to be intimidated by such politics of vendetta and will not be cowed down by such actions he claimedWe have shaken this government by asking questions to the Prime Minister every day on the Adani scam He is quiet on Chinese incursions on Adanis scams and where he needs to unleash the ED he is not doing so Ramesh saidRamesh claimed the opposition leaders who have joined the BJP have been proven innocent after being washed in the BJPs washing machineHe said 17 opposition parties have already come together against the grant of powers to the ED under the PMLA and the opposition will jointly file the review petition in the Supreme Court against its previous judgement on the issueKhera said the Adani issue is actually bringing the opposition togetherWe want to ask Prime Minister Modi that when the media publishes something you carry out raids and when the opposition asks questions in Parliament then you expunge the remarks from the recordsYou forced the judiciary to hold a press conference and the law minister makes all kinds of statements against the judiciary and now the RSS magazine Panchjanya has come out with a lead article alleging that the Supreme Court has become a tool in the hands of the antinational forces he saidKhera said our second question to the father of democracy is why dont you answer and order a probe into the scam by your dear friend Gautam AdaniAsked whether the issue will be discussed at the plenary session Ramesh said he cannot preempt what the talking points in the plenary will be but certainly one of the themes in the political resolution is the misuse of investigative agencies the subversion of constitutional bodies the loss of independence of institution that underpins our democratic structureHe said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was based on three pillars to highlight the growing dangers of economic inequality the increasing social polarisation based on religion caste language ethnicity and political dictatorshipAll these three pillars will be discussed in Raipur he saidEconomic inequality will be one of the major themes of the economic resolution social polarisation will undoubtedly figure in social justice resolution and this undeclared emergency we have in our country will certainly be discussed in Raipur We have seen a perfect example of the politics of vendetta and vengeance in Raipur today he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever