KALABURAGI: AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has condemned the ED for arresting TN Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji in the wee hours of Wednesday. Addressing reporters here, Kharge sought to know whether Balaji would have escaped had the ED waited till Wednesday morning for his arrest.
“Why did the ED hurry in arresting Senthil Balaji? Perhaps, the Union Government wants to break the opposition unity by indirectly threatening the leaders of opposition parties through such arrests. We will not give in to such pressure tactics,” he said.
Kharge also criticised the Centre for “mishandling” the Manipur crisis. “Had the government taken timely action, it could have prevented the large-scale violence. It is a clear case of negligence,” he alleged. Kharge said that he has written to President Droupadi Murmu to speak with PM Modi and other Union ministers and direct them to provide compensation to the people affected by violence in Manipur.
Kharge said Congress is making all preparations for the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya. “Congress will come to power on its own. The party will make Karnataka’s “five guarantees” its poll plank in these states,” he said.