Rahul Gandhi awaits 'ED raid' with chai-biscuit, open arms

Congress MP Manickam Tagore submitted an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on 2 August, calling for an urgent discussion on the 'misuse of agencies like the ED, CBI and income tax [department] for political harassment' — shortly after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi made a sensational revelation of an ED raid being planned against him.

'Despite their reduced number from 303 to 240 seats and the reliance on alliances with the TDP... the government continues to deploy these agencies to intimidate opposition leaders and force compliance, undermining democratic principles,' the three-time MP from Virudhnagar, Tamil Nadu, wrote in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

'This misuse of state power is unacceptable and threatens the integrity of our institutions. We demand an immediate cessation of these practices and call for respect for democratic norms and the autonomy of our agencies. Our democracy’s health depends on impartial governance and fair political engagement,' Tagore, 49, the party’s whip in the Lok Sabha, continued in his note.

Earlier in the morning (or late the night of 1 August), Rahul Gandhi posted on X, citing ED sources, and asserting that a raid was being planned as a result of his Budget speech not being 'liked by 2 in 1', with a nod at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.

In his Budget speech, Rahul Gandhi spoke of a metaphorical chakravyuh (in an allusion to the Mahabharata), illustrating that the BJP-led NDA government was creating traps and hurdles for the common people.

The Leader of the Opposition had noted that the 2024 Union Budget had nothing for farmers, youth, the middle class or Agniveers. In his speech, he also promised that the INDIA bloc would break the government’s chakravyuh and ensure a legal guarantee of MSP for farmers and a nationwide caste census.

The ED apprehensions might not be entirely out of the blue. In June 2022, Gandhi was questioned by the ED for 50 hours over five days. “They asked me not to leave the chair, (to) keep sitting for hours… (said) don’t you get tired, we have got tired. They asked me the secret behind my energy,” the Congress MP had said, recounting the events again in May 2024.

Reacting to that retelling, AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai said, "This shows that the BJP's resolve to end democracy, the Constitution and the opposition in this country, which was started before elections, is still going on. The BJP is not ready to even listen to the people's mandate."