Jaipur:

Attacking the Central government on recent Enforcement Directorate raids in poll-bound Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the National Democratic Alliance government is “doing a crime” and the country “will never forgive them”.

“The NDA govt is doing a crime and the country will never forgive them…election is going on, ED keeps showing up at the houses of party leaders, keeping them (opposition leaders) busy throughout the day. BJP people are freely fighting the elections, whereas Congress leaders are being sent notices…,” Chief Minister Gehlot told reporters on Saturday in Delhi

“Even if they (BJP) lose elections in all 5 states, it won’t be surprising…ED has still not conveyed why they are raiding these political leaders and what they found so far…only BJP is talking, they have become ED’s spokesperson,” Mr Gehlot alleged.

ED on Thursday conducted raids at the residences of state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara in Jaipur and Sikar. Additionally, a coaching centre allegedly linked to Dotasara was also searched.

The ED has also summoned Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot, for questioning in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case.

Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI, “They (BJP) want to spoil Gehlot’s election and demoralise and scare Congress leader. They do it always. We won’t be scared, we will fight strongly and will face this. Whatever they are doing is not right. We have been in politics for 50 years, but ED and IT raids during election time, have never happened. But today they are doing this to scare the CM. But one day they too will have to suffer.”

Congress leader Sachin Pilot expressed suspicion about the “timing,” “objective,” and “intent” behind the raids conducted by central government agencies in Rajasthan, suggesting that the BJP might be feeling vulnerable ahead of the Rajasthan assembly elections.

Mr Pilot criticized the BJP for specifically targeting Congress leaders without factual evidence, accusing them of attempting to use central agencies to influence the election outcome.

Polling for all 200 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25 and the counting of votes will be held on December 3.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In a strong reaction to the Enforcement Directorate searches on premises linked to the Rajasthan Congress President and an MLA, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has accused the BJP government at the centre of turning all of the country’s institutions into a joke.

“People are not even surprised anymore. They say even before such raids happen that elections are approaching in Rajasthan, so there will be ED action against parties there. Elections will also be held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. The BJP is frustrated in every way and it feels that people’s trust in the party is decreasing,” Mr Bharadwaj, who is also a minister in the Delhi government, said on Thursday. 

Speaking in Hindi, the minister alleged that the BJP is trying to get its opponents on the back foot and scare them, and that is why all these investigations are happening. 

“If a government has 150 departments, there can be 150 alleged scams. All you have to do is ask one of your people to file a complaint. That could be linked to the ration system, coal or recruitment. It becomes an alleged scam. Then they start calling it a scam and arresting the accused. Then they say ‘look, these people are corrupt’,” Mr Bharadwaj said.

He alleged that this has become a joke now and while no action is being taken on actual scams, agencies are being used to scare, trouble and intimidate the opposition. “The people are watching. They are understanding everything,” said the minister. 

Earlier in the day, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot, was also summoned by the ED in connection with alleged violations of foreign exchange rules. Dismissing the allegations against his son, who has been asked to appear before the agency in Jaipur or Delhi on Friday, the chief minister said central agencies have lost all credibility. 

The agency also conducted searches on the premises of Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra and Independent MLA and Congress candidate Omprakash Hudla in connection with a 2022 paper leak case.

Reacting to Ashok Gehlot’s claims, BJP Rajasthan president CP Joshi said Congress leaders do not need to be afraid of the ED if they are clean.