Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) termed the improvation Directorate (ED) raids on premises associated with a party MP and three MLAs in Karnataka to divide the party in the state.
He claimed that the Congress was being targeted at the center without naming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its objective is to benefit from it by creating differences in the ruling party in the state. The Congress President claimed that those who do so will not succeed in their efforts because all the MLAs of the party are united.
Kharge said, & lsquo; & lsquo; I do not have detailed information. I have received information from TV. Naturally, if the ED has done this, they are angry with the Congress from the beginning. If they are targeting Congress MLAs, then it seems that there is a conspiracy to divide our party. & Rsquo;
The Congress President said in a conversation with reporters here that if they now bother them for something that happened during the election, then it is not right.
He said, ‘The matter should have been seen only during the election, but one year and a half later, if they are picking it up now, then it seems to try to divide the party MLAs. Let’s see how the ED takes this matter. I will get information from the Chief Minister on the phone and see what needs to be done. ‘
Official sources said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided the premises of Congress Lok Sabha member E. Tukaram and three MLAs of the party from Bellary as part of the alleged money laundering case related to the Valmiki scam."Text-Align: justify;"> He informed that searches are being conducted under the provisions of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on five premises in Bellary and three campuses in Bangalore city. These include Tukaram and MLAs Nara Bharat Reddy (Bellary City), JN Ganesh (Kampli) and NT Srinivas (Kudaligi).
ED is taking this action under investigating allegations of misuse of corporate money. When asked about this, Kharge said, ‘They can say so. This case has been left to ED. I will not interfere in this. This kind of investigation continues. Crores of rupees are seized during the election. Where is this? Whose is this? Things have not been revealed yet. Then funds were seized from all parties. Where is that wealth? ‘
Kharge pointed to the BJP and said that everyone knows who spends how much during the election. He said, & lsquo; & lsquo; They specifically target a party (Congress), because if they harass this party, there will be natural differences inside. They feel that it will benefit them; but it’s impossible. Despite all their harassment, all our MLAs are united and this is not new in Karnataka … I do not want to comment more until the investigation is completed. ‘
Sources said that the raid is being carried out to gather evidence on the allegation that the money withdrawn from the accounts of Karnataka Maharishi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) was used to distribute cash to voters and Congress workers of Bellary seat during the Lok Sabha elections last year.
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