New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday cited over 3,000 ED raids under eight years of the Modi government, as compared to 112 during the UPA decade, and said that a poor conviction rate of just 0.5 percent showed the alleged “weaponization” of the agency by the ruling BJP.
“Under 10 years of UPA rule from 2004 to 2014, the ED conducted 112 raids. Against this, the agency conducted over 3,000 raids since 2014 but the conviction rate was just 0.5 percent. This shows that out of the 100 raids, only 0.5 percent were based on truth and facts…0.5 percent is close to zero. These are shocking statistics. They illustrate the weaponization of the Enforcement Directorate against political rivals and those who routinely expose this government,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
Congress's reaction came a day after the Supreme Court of India upheld the agency’s rights to arrests, attachments, seizures, and reverse burden of proof under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. A number of these challenges are related to amendments brought in 2018.
“While we have the greatest respect for the Supreme Court, we feel that the learned court has not considered the consistent pattern of selective and motivated deployment that the Enforcement Directorate has been put to in the last eight years. The ED has functioned, without the barest regard for the perception, as an extension of the ruling party,” said Singhvi.
Since June, the entire Congress has been up in arms over ED summons for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case, which the party claims are bogus and part of BJP’s political vendetta.
Earlier, former finance minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram, Karnataka chief DK Shiv Kumar, besides Robert Vadra, son in law of party chief Sonia Gandhi, have faced raids or summons from the central probe agency in various cases. P Chidambaram was even jailed and got bail after a tough legal battle.
Over the past years, Congress has been raising its voice against the alleged misuse of the ED raids against its senior leaders and also other opposition leaders, including allies Shiv Sena, NCP, TMC, and RJD.
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According to Singhvi, a vast number of cases have been filed against opposition leaders, but almost no fresh cases have been filed against those who are members of the ruling party or bear proximity to the same. “Where cases were initiated against members of the opposition, they have gone into cold storage or been abandoned altogether once the accused have switched loyalties towards the ruling party. This is also the case with cases pending against BJP leaders,” said Singhvi.
The Congress leader, also a Supreme Court senior advocate, urged the top court to provide safeguards in the application of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). “This pattern of malicious use also exposes the necessity of safeguards, many of which have been dismantled by this government through amendment after amendment. Prior to an amendment in 2019, seizures could only be affected after a report had been presented to a magistrate. This has been done away with and seizures can take place without any notice and entirely at the discretion of the Enforcement Directorate,” said Singhvi.
“Furthermore, it was pointed out that the Appellate Tribunal for PMLA hasn’t had a full-time chairman since September 2019. This again speaks of the Modi government’s intentions for whom the safeguarding of rights is simply not a priority,” he said. The Congress leader clarified that the party was not against ED probes but only wanted strong legal systems to ensure fair play.
“It is no one’s case that the government should not investigate money laundering or build strong mechanisms to tackle the problem of financial crimes. However, in the absence of meaningful safeguards, and with a government that has routinely stood and argued against the grant of fundamental rights to citizens before the very same Supreme Court, unbridled powers to investigating agencies promises devastating consequences for our democracy,” said Singhvi. Congress, he said, will continue to speak out and expose the government without fear or favor.
