Weaponising ED runs into SC wall; Opposition bays for blood
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week called Opposition unity a bid of corrupt to gang up against his government. Enforcement Directorate (ED) had during the tenure of Modi at the helm of the government been the foremost strike force against the political opponents of the BJP as per evident facts.
The Supreme Court in its verdict on Tuesday ruled that the tow extensions given to the director of the investigative agency Sanjay Kumar Mishra were illegal. Mishra has been asked to leave office by July 31. The apex court has termed the decision of the Modi government to give extension after extension to Mishra illegal, which is likely to arm the Opposition with fresh ammo to go after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters that the Supreme Court verdict is a vindication of the party’s allegation of brazen misuse of the ED as part of the political vendetta. Manoj Kumar Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) claimed that the government owned an apology after the verdict of the apex court.
In just three years, between 2018-19 and 2021-22, there had been an exponential rise in cases registered by the ED for violation of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundry Act), with over 500 pre cent more cases. Close to 3500 cases under ED had been filed, which included high-profile charges against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, and others.
The Opposition had even accused that the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar by his nephew Ajit Pawar was ostensibly under the pressure of the ED. Political rivals of the BJP in Delhi (Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain of the Aam Aadmi Party), Sanjay Rout of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, K. Kavitha of the Bharath Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, Partha Chatterjee of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, V Senthil Balaji of the DMK in Tamil Nadu have faced the brunt of the investigative agency which by its overdrive made the Central Bureau of Investigation lose all the sheen.
But the ED has so far not raided or arrested even a single BJP leader. The Opposition parties struggling to counter the anti-corruption plank of the BJP and Modi in particular may grab the verdict of the apex court to pounce on the ruling dispensation for allegedly abusing the power for the political gains. The upcoming Monsoon session, which is already heavy with agenda for the Opposition parties, may become the stage for the non-BJP outfits to pin down the anti-corruption plank of Modi.
The BJP leaders are predictably taking shelter in argument that the amendments to the PMLA remain in force and the person who heads the ED is immaterial. Yet, the BJP leaders have not been able to answer why Mishra was being given extension repeatedly.
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