Congress slams ED action against Hemant Soren

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said intimidating Opposition leaders by “using provisions of the draconian PMLA is part of the BJP’s tool kit. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Moments after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren on Wednesday in a money laundering case, the Congress slammed the Narendra Modi government for targeting only Opposition leaders.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said intimidating Opposition leaders by “using provisions of the draconian PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act] is part of the BJP’s tool kit”.

He said Opposition governments were being destabilised one by one.

“The one who did not go with Modi ji will go to jail. Forcing Jharkhand Chief Minister Shri Hemant Soren by using ED is a blow to federalism,” Mr. Kharge said.

The Congress chief alleged that those who went into BJP’s washing machine had been cleaned white.

“We will not be afraid. We will continue to fight in Parliament and on the streets,” he added.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi too took to X and said the ED, CBI, IT were no longer government agencies but had become “BJP’s ‘eliminate opposition cell’.”

“In its obsession with power, the BJP, steeped in corruption itself, is running a campaign to destroy democracy,” Mr. Gandhi added.

The ED action against Mr. Soren follows questioning of Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad in an alleged land-for-job scam.

The Central agency has also served a fresh summons to Aam Aadmi Party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi liquor policy. Mr. Kejriwal, however, avoided the agency’s summons so far.