The BJP wants to get rid of the opposition, said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge
A day after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was raided and later arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Patra Chawl land scam, Congress leaders condemned the probe agency's action against him and accused the BJP of pursuing "politics of intimidation".
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury extended his support to Sanjay Raut and called him a "man of conviction and courage".
"The only crime SanjayRaut has committed is that he has not been cowered down by the politics of intimidation of the BJP party. He is a man of conviction and courage. We are with Sanjay Raut," he tweeted.
Reacting to Mr Raut's arrest, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said his party is concerned about the misuse of central agencies to selectively target the opposition leaders.
"Government institutions are not there to serve political purpose," Mr Tharoor asserted.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that the action was taken against Mr Raut because the BJP wants to get rid of the opposition.
"The BJP wants an opposition-mukt Parliament, that's why the action against Sanjay Raut," Mr Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Sanjay Raut runs a party and a newspaper and if from his home Rs 11 lakh have been found then ED has made a case against him on the basis of it, he is being harassed," Mr Kharge said.
ED officials had searched Mr Raut's home for the most part of Sunday after he refused to appear for questioning despite being summoned twice.
He was then taken to the ED's zonal office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate.
The Rajya Sabha MP was then arrested at midnight after hours of questioning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Before entering the ED office, Mr Raut had claimed that the federal agency's action was aimed at trying to weaken the Shiv Sena and that a "false" case was prepared against him.