Modi govt using ED to target opposition just before polls as usual; BJP can’t tolerate Punjab’s Dalit CM: Cong

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Friday slammed the Modi government for using various Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and the Income Tax Department to target opposition leaders, remarking that a relative of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had been arrested just before the state assembly polls because the BJP could not tolerate a Dalit leading a state government.

“It is absolutely deplorable that every time there is an election, every time a democratically-elected government has to be toppled, this government resorts to using government agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, which should actually be called the ‘Election Directorate’ quite frankly or the CBI, or the Income Tax to topple these governments, to target people who are otherwise representing the real aspirations of the people of this country,” she said while addressing mediapersons in New Delhi.

“The fact also is that the BJP and the RSS and Mr Modi are absolutely against Dalits. There is a reason why they don’t seem to able to digest the fact that the Dalit can be the Chief Minister of Punjab in independent India. Of course, they have got 17 governments elected all across the country, not one Dalit leads that government and which is why they are targeting Dalits,” she added.

“They are targeting the farmers of Punjab, who stood there, who stood there peacefully and made you bow down and you had to withdraw the farm laws.

It is another thing, you did not do it out of the goodness of your heart, you did it because you are losing by-elections because you could sense defeat,” Shrinate said.

“The reality is the score will be 5/0 on the board when these elections end, but the reality also is that your real face is out for the public and so are the faces of people who continue to act as your team ‘B’ or should I say BJP is a lighter version of AAP today, I don’t know,” she added.

“There are people who may be scared of ED. You have raked up cases which are 6 years old against Chief Minister Channi or against Mr. Sidhu is 33 years old. Maybe Amarinder Singh was too scared of ED and went into recluse under you. Maybe Majithia is too scared of ED and has become a singing pigeon. Maybe Kejriwal is attacking a Dalit CM at your behest, but we are not the ones, who can be cowed down,” she said.

“We are soldiers of Rahul Gandhi, we are soldiers of the Congress Party and Mr Channi with all his might, Mr. Sidhu with all his might, the Punjab Congress with all their might will continue to fight for the farmers of that state, for the welfare of the state, come what may,” she added.