BENGALURU: The ruling Congress will stage a protest outside the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Bengaluru on Wednesday against the “blatant misuse of central agencies” by the Modi-led BJP government.
The protest, expected to draw a large gathering of MLAs, MPs and top party functionaries, is being staged against what the Congress described as the “arbitrary and unjust seizure of the assets of the National Herald” and the “politically motivated charge sheets” filed against its senior leaders. However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who have prior engagements in Kalaburagi, will not take part in the protest.
“This is nothing but a state-sponsored crime disguised as a legal action,” said Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, adding that the party will not stay silent in the face of “systematic attack” on democratic institutions and opposition voices.
Party leaders alleged that the BJP government at the Centre is using the ED as a weapon to throttle dissent and paralyse opposition forces through intimidation and legal harassment. “This is Modi government’s vendetta politics on full display,” Khandre said.
This isn’t the first time that the Karnataka Congress leaders have taken to the streets against the Centre’s investigating agencies. During the 2019 parliamentary elections, the party had staged a similar protest against widespread raids targeting Congress candidates and supporters. That protest had seen the likes of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar leading the crowd outside the Income Tax office on Infantry Road.
In a statement, party general secretary KC Venugopal said, “This is going to be an all-India protest. We will protest outside the ED offices across the country against their blatant misuse of power and against the vendetta politics of the Modi government. All leaders, party functionaries and elected representatives will join the protest.’’