Hours after the dramatic arrest of Tamil Nadu Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Minister V Senthil Balaji under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), opposition parties including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), DMK and Congress, lashed out at the centre for indulging in "vendetta politics" and "misusing" probe agencies against the Opposition.
Officials said that Balaji was arrested after a long session of questioning, even as the 47-year-old minister was admitted to a city government hospital after he complained of uneasiness. He is likely to be produced before a special court later where the agency will seek his custody. The action came months after the Supreme Court allowed a police and ED probe into an alleged cash for jobs scam against him.
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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the late night arrest of the minister, terming it as "political harassment."
"This is nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi govt. against those opposed to it. None of us in the Opposition will be intimidated by such brazen moves," the Congress said in a statement on Twitter.
DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who visited Balaji at the hospital, said that the party was not scared of BJP’s “intimidation” tactics, and said that the minister will face the case legally.
“DMK will not be cowed down by BJP’s intimidation. People are watching such oppression and will give a befitting reply in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” he said in a statement.
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He further charged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials of "enacting a drama" in the name of enquiry and accused them of "physically and mentally troubling" Balaji.
Another joint statement issued by the constituents of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) including TNCC president K S Alagiri and state secretaries of CPI and CPI (M), R Mutharasan and K Balakrishnan, respectively and VCK founder Thol Thirumavalavan slammed the "anti-people" BJP-led NDA and said it has not done anything for the people in the last nine years in office.
"The saffron party was losing elections in many states and has realised it was on the way out in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and therefore was resorting to "weakening democratic forces" to see if it can emerge victorious in the hustings next year," they said.
The AAP too, condemned the arrest which they claimed “raises serious concerns about the working methods of the ED”.
In a statement, the party said, "This arrest is a part of the continued attack on India's opposition, and it undermines the very foundations of our democracy, which thrives on the principles of justice, fairness and the right to dissent."
"The use of false allegations and politically motivated arrests undermines the democratic fabric of our nation and erodes public trust in the impartiality of law enforcement agencies," they further said, extending solidarity with Balaji and other opposition leaders who "have been victims of BJP’s undemocratic targeting."
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Earlier, 14 political parties led by the Congress moved Supreme Court against arbitrary use of ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in arresting opposition leaders. In fact, nine opposition leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging "misuse of central agencies" amidst the war of words over the arrest of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case.
The ED had launched searches at locations linked to Balaji at Chennai, Karur and Erode on Tuesday as part of the probe into money laundering. Balaji was earlier with the AIADMK and had been Transport Minister in the late Jayalalithaa-led Cabinet.
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(With inputs from PTI)
