New Delhi, May 21: The Congress on Wednesday condemned the Enforcement Directorate searches at educational institutions linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, alleging that the probe agency’s actions were being undertaken at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reflect the politics of vendetta.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the BJP is clearly nervous and worried by the achievements of the Karnataka government over the past two years.
The ED is conducting searches at educational institutions linked to the Karnataka minister at Tumakuru and on the outskirts of Bengaluru, official sources said.
According to sources, the searches were underway at Sri Siddhartha Medical College and Sri Siddhartha Institute Of Technology in Tumakuru and Sri Siddhartha Institute Of Medical Sciences in Nelamangala on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
The reasons for the searches are not yet known.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “The INC condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the ED raids on the Home Minister of Karnataka. Dr. G. Parameshwara is one of the senior-most political leaders of the country who has made great contributions to the cause of education, particularly that of the weaker sections of society.”
“The ED actions undertaken at the behest of the prime minister himself reflect the politics of harassment, vendetta, and intimidation of which he is the master,” he said.
The BJP is clearly nervous and worried by the achievements of the Karnataka government over the past two years, he said.
“We will not be silenced. We will continue to hold the PM to account for his multiple failures on multiple fronts,” Ramesh said.
Congress General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed the ED raids on the educational institutions of the Karnataka minister, one of the tallest SC Leaders, is a “frustrated reaction of the BJP and the Modi government to giving of ownership rights to 1 lakh SC-ST families yesterday at Hospet”.
The constant assault on the Constitution and the leaders of SC-ST-OBC communities across India has become a habitual pattern, he said.
“The revenge seeking against Dr Parameshwara is part of this sinister design. Dr. Parameshwara has run Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Tumkuru that was set up 46 tears ago in 1979 and Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkuru was set up 28 years ago in 1988 in the rural hinterland of Tumkuru to light the lamp of education,” he said.
It is indeed surprising that after 46 years of setting up of this institution, Modi government is searching for wrongdoing, while the BJP’s “corruption” is being actively investigated by the state’s home ministry and Parameshwara, Surjewala said.
“The ED raids appear to be a desperate attempt to coverup the corruption of the previous BJP governments and stifle the voice of those who champion the voice of the oppressed,” he said.
The Karnataka Congress will carry on with its five guarantees undeterred and will follow up more rigorously the sixth guarantee of giving ownership of 1 lakh houses “to our brothers and sisters of the SC-ST communities.”
“Truth shall win,” he added.(PTI)
