BJP Govt at Centre misusing probe agencies by targeting opponents: BRS MPs

BRS MPs accuse BJP of misusing investigating agencies for political vengeance, targeting opponents ahead of elections.

hyderabad

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MPs have alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Government at the Centre has been misusing the investigating agencies at a new level and foisting the case against the party MLC K. Kavitha as part of its plans of political vengeance to harass opponents who refuse to toe its line.

Speaking to media persons in New Delhi on Friday, BRS party MPs Nama Nageswara Rao, K.R. Suresh Reddy, Vaddiraju Ravichandra and Manne Srinivas Reddy said that BRS and its MLC have complete faith in the country’s judiciary and that she would come out unscathed. They mentioned that against the filing of only 200 cases by the Enforcement Directorate during 2004-14, the agency had filed 2,954 cases from 2014.

They stated that Ms. Kavitha was not an accused in the case but was a victim as the Centre was misusing the investigating agencies to harass political opponents ahead of the elections to Parliament. Further, they alleged that the ED was dragging the case like a soap opera for over two years now and it had intensified to target the opponents during the election time.

Mr. Nageswara Rao said political conspiracies by the BJP were witnessed by the people and it had initially targeted Shiv Sena and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Now, it was targeting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BRS. Making policies was the right of State Governments and the Centre too had made or changed existing policies.

Stating that ED raids at the behest of BJP (Centre) were conducted before the Assembly elections in several instances in the past, Mr. Suresh Reddy said now they were being carried out ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Ravichandra and Mr. Srinivas Reddy said the BJP would have to pay a price for the misuse of agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as if it was making them act with the help of remote control and that the party is either destabilising or toppling the State Governments.