Rahul Gandhi claims ED raids are 'BJP's favourite weapon' after raid on Channi's nephew

After ED conducted raids on Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew's residence, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that conducting raids was 'BJP's favourite weapon'. Taking to microblogging site Twitter, Gandhi said it was the saffron party's favourite weapon because they themselves had things to hide. 

"Not everyone is like you, we don't have fear," the 51-year-old further wrote on Twitter. The raids were carried out at the Mohali residence of Bhupinder Singh Honey, nephew of Channi, in relation to alleged illegal sand mining in the Congress-ruled state. As per sources, approximately Rs 4 crore of unaccounted cash has been recovered from Honey's residence. 

Channi on raids at nephew's residence

Charanjit Singh Channi termed it a 'political vendetta to target Congressmen' ahead of the assembly elections. The Punjab CM highlighted that a similar pattern was witnessed during the West Bengal elections, and alleged that the BJP-ruled Central government was using the law enforcement agency to target him and his ministers. 

"It is nothing but a political vendetta against me. The same pattern of ED raids was seen during the Bengal elections. As polls are nearing in Punjab, the ED has swung into action. They are now targeting me and my ministers. This is not good for democracy," he told reporters outside his residence.

Referring to the FIR against his nephew in connection with the illegal sand mining case, the CM said, "The FIR was filed in 2018 when I was not the Chief Minister. They are digging up false cases to target my family before polls. But their intentions will not succeed. They can target us as much as they want but we Punjabis will never be repressed. We will go ahead with the elections."

ED's action against land mafias 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided multiple locations in poll-bound Punjab as part of a money-laundering probe against the 'sand mafia' and companies linked to alleged illegal sand mining in the border state, officials said. They said at least 10-12 locations in the state including in Chandigarh and Mohali are being covered by the officials of the federal agency and the action is being undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED action, sources said, has been initiated after taking cognisance of a 2018 FIR of the Punjab Police against some companies and individuals alleged to be involved in illegal sand mining in the state.

The development comes right ahead of assembly elections in Punjab. The voting for its 117 assembly seats is slated to be held on February 20, with the counting of votes on March 10.