Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said Central investigation agencies were acting as alliance partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Yadav said the agencies were working under immense political pressure and that more searches would be carried out by them on Opposition members in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election.
The remarks by the RJD leader came against the backdrop of the searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in Jharkhand and other States in connection with an illegal mining case.
The ED conducted searches on premises linked to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s press adviser, Abhishek Prasad, Hazaribag Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rajendra Dubey, and others.
Mr. Yadav and his father, Lalu Prasad, have also been summoned by the ED in the land-for-money-scam case.
“Till election, searches by Central agencies on the Opposition will continue. I had already made this prediction. Central agencies are under immense pressure. Central agencies have left their own work and are busy with political work. These agencies are like alliance partners of NDA led by BJP. There are only a few parties left in NDA, so these agencies are now the major parties in the NDA,” Mr. Yadav told presspersons outside his residence in Patna.
RJD MP Manoj Jha had on Tuesday said that ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Central investigation agencies would take action against the Opposition parties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not fight them politically. He claimed that prominent Opposition leaders in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Delhi would be targeted.
On the possibility that the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) could be notified before the election, Mr. Yadav said it was another political move by the BJP.
“Let it be notified. Why to react now? It is another political move. As election approaches, topics such as Hindu-Muslim, temple-mosque would be discussed. Real issues would not be discussed,” Mr. Yadav said.
Mr. Yadav said discussions were under way among leaders of the Indian National Democratic, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on holding the next meeting of the bloc.
Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Wednesday stressed that no one should doubt the leadership and capability of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as far as electing him as the convener of the INDIA bloc.
Reacting to the ED searches in Jharkhand, he said that Opposition parties were being harassed by the Central agencies.
