ED raids in Punjab brazen attempt to influence polls: Cong to EC

The Congress on Thursday knocked the doors of the Election Commission protesting against the "politically motivated" raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Punjab, claiming that these actions were aimed to "malign and defame" Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and a "brazen attempt" at influencing polls in the five states.

The Congress delegation held a digital meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and his colleagues and shared a memorandum explaining their concerns over the violation of Model Code of Conduct as well as the Election Commission's 2019 directive against misusing central agencies.

The delegation -- Randeep Surjewala, Dr Abhishek M Singhvi, Harish Chaudhary, Devender Yadav, Ganesh Godiyal, Pranav Jha and Aman Panwar -- also complained about the violations of the Model Code of Conduct by the BJP-led Uttarakhand government alleging that it was back-dating and tampering records.

In its memorandum, the Congress leaders said the Centre was flouting the Election Commission directive with impunity against misusing central agencies. This is a "brazen misuse of the official machinery and part of a larger pattern of malicious intimidation that is being done to directly influence" the outcome in five election-bound states, it said.

"The blatant misuse of central investigative agencies for conducting politically motivated raids with the sole objective to publicly defame and malign the leaders of Indian National Congress, particularly, the Congress Chief Minister in the State of Punjab, continues regardless of the Model Code of Conduct and with a view to illegally influence public opinion in the ongoing elections," it said.

The ED had conducted searches in a money laundering probe in an illegal sand mining case registered by Punjab Police five years ago. The premises of Channi's businessman-nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey was also searched from where investigators claimed they seized Rs 8 crore.

"The fake case being built up by the central BJP Government and ED is that Kudrat Deep, an accused in the FIR (who has been discharged at the charge stage), is an acquaintance of Bhupinder Singh Honey and that he was laundering money with connection to Bhupinder Singh Honey. It is pertinent to note that Bhupinder Singh Honey is related to the Chief Minister of Punjab by virtue of being his sister-in-law’s son," it said.

It alleged that malicious news stories were being planted by the ED against the Chief Minister and fake perception being created. The Congress also alleged that the ED raids are a revenge against the "failure" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Ferozepur on January 5.

"Even a 15-minute halt of PM’s carcade owing to sudden protest by the farmers (which the Chief Minister has regretted) has been used to point out as if all the people of Punjab are Khalistanis and the responsibility for the same is of the Chief Minister...So much so that BJP’s Assam Chief Minister had publicly demanded that Channi should be arrested and sent behind bars, therefore, the present raids are nothing but a counter-action (taken within 14 days)," the memorandum said.