Senthil Balaji, the minister of electricity for Tamil Nadu, was detained late at night by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which was criticised by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as political retaliation and vengeance on the part of the federal government.
“Congress President Shri @kharge condemns the late-night arrest of Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Shri V. Senthil Balaji by the ED. This is nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi govt. against those opposed to it. None of us in the Opposition will be intimidated by such brazen moves,” Kharge said in a press statement released by the Congress.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram pointed out that these raids by the central agencies are only for ‘optics’ and it does not help in collating evidence.
“All these @dir_ed raids on functionaries of political parties opposed to the @BJP4India are only for optics & voyeuristic pleasure of a few, it in no way aids in collating “evidence” in the “alleged” case. Events of 2016 (ADMK)raids in 2023 in the Secratariat Office, seriously?” he tweeted.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, while being detained by ED agents for questioning in relation to an alleged money laundering case, Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji started to cry. This came after the ED searched his home on Tuesday.
When there was intense drama outside the hospital, the ED transported Balaji to Omandurar Government Hospital in Chennai for a medical checkup under heavy security. While lying in the car with his supporters gathered nearby to protest against the ED move, Balaji could be heard sobbing in anguish.