Two days after the DMK withdraw its support to the UPA Government, the CBI raided its leader M K Stalin’s house in Chennai prompting widespread criticism from political parties. The political parties said it was vendetta against their former ally.
Worried over the political fallout of the timing of the raids, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram expressed their displeasure on the agency’s raid. However, this public disapproval of raids brought them under further criticism for interfering in the functioning of the CBI.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley charged, “Merely because it has a political fallout, it is improper for any Prime Minister or a Finance Minister to so blatantly interfere in the functioning of the CBI and cripple it from carrying on its routine investigations.”
“If this was a search in the normal course of CBI investigation, CBI is entitled to carry out that search. What business does the government have or the political regime have to interfere in CBI and start stopping that search?” Jaitley asked.
Earlier during the day, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said in Rajya Sabha, “You do not know how to run the government you do not know how to treat your allies...It is nothing but blackmail...”
BSP chief Mayawati too slammed the government over the CBI searches. “I have been a victim of the misuse of CBI. Be it BJP or Congress both have misused the CBI. .. such misuse was not good for a healthy democracy. When we parted ways with BJP the NDA Government used the agency to target us.”
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury termed the agency as congress bureau of investigation. “Within 24 hours after DMK withdrew support, these raids took place. The CBI can therefore only be called the congress bureau of investigation.” “The prime minister has also thrown his hands. If the PM as the head of the government does not know what his government is doing it is a sad state of affairs....The CBI raids are a clear signal to the supporting parties to look out for.”
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “the CBI raids on Stalin in the imported cars case vindicates BJP’s charges that Congress has been blatantly misusing CBI to survive in government. Today the CBI is indeed the congress bureau of investigation.”
The DMK MPs also protested against the raids. They raised slogans and accused the government of misusing the agency.