Accusing the BJP-led Union government of using the Enforcement Directorate to demoralise Congress leaders, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president M. Mallikarjun Kharge said the five State Assembly election results would force the Modi-led government to “introspect“.
Addressing presspersons at Kalaburagi Airport on Saturday, Mr. Kharge attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre for the recent Enforcement Directorate raids at the residence of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasara and also for serving notice to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case.
Alleging that the BJP was trying to demoralise the Congress leaders through various strategies, Mr. Kharge asserted that his party would continue to fight against the misuse of agencies in a democratic set up.
“The results of Assembly Elections in the five States would a befitting reply to the saffron party. I have been in politics for five decades. I did not indulge in vengeance politics. We never misused agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department to suppress our political opponents ahead of elections. Modi-led government is misusing its power to demoralise Congress leaders. The BJP should, however, know that their efforts to suppress Congress leaders would turn counter-productive,” Mr. Kharge said.
The Congress veteran later visited Buddha Vihar run by Siddartha Vihar Trust and participated in the installation of Buddha statue there. The statue, carved out in a white marble, was unveiled by a team of Buddhist monks arrived from different parts of the country, especially from Indonesia and Thailand.
Mr. Kharge’s wife Radhabai Kharge and son and chairman of Siddartha Vihar Trust Rahul Kharge were among the dignitaries present in the event.
