In a liquor case, Congress determines that the ED’s weaponization is detrimental to democracy

The Congress said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court’s decision to throw out an ED case against an ex-IAS officer and his son in connection with a purported liquor scam in Chhattisgarh was a confirmation of its position that investigative bodies were being used to target political rivals. It further claimed that the Enforcement Directorate’s “weaponization” was detrimental to democracy.

The party said that while the whole matter was “politically motivated,” the BJP “shamelessly peddled lies” in order to incriminate former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel ahead of the Assembly elections.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said the agency’s conduct was “mala fide” and against the standards of a fair playing field at a news conference at the AICC headquarters.

He said that the “revolving door of political vendetta is very bad for democracy” and that “it is clearly motivated politically.” He also claimed that “this weaponization of ED is not good for India’s democracy and independence.”

Singhvi highlighted the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the Enforcement Directorate’s complaint about the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam to support the party’s position that the majority of its cases against politicians were driven by politics.

“Why wasn’t the ED able to give any evidence of money laundering if a scam this large, worth Rs 2,161 crore, had taken place?” he asked. The Congress leader said that of the 15-20% of charges the ED has filed against different political figures, 98% involved opposition parties.

Singhvi drew attention to the ED’s allegations that hundreds of individuals, including bureaucrats and liquor makers in addition to politicians, were engaged. He demanded to know “why not a single liquor manufacturer or excise official of Chhattisgarh was arrested by the ED,” alleging that the investigation agency’s goal was clear: to discredit the political rivals in advance of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.

He said that the fraud was allegedly committed in 2019–20 and questioned why the ED had started an investigation three years later, just before Chhattisgarh’s assembly elections in November 2023.

The state BJP administration, according to the senior Congress politician, is now abusing the Economic Offenses Wing to target opposition figures.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, has “killed” anti-corruption movements and initiatives across the nation by using the ED, CBI, and Income Tax department to “hound” all INDIA bloc politicians and by using the “washing machine” to purify BJP politicians.