BJP routinely uses ED, CBI as political weapons: Somnath Bharti after raid on Durgesh Pathak's residence

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) AAP leader Somnath Bharti on Thursday accused the BJP of routinely misusing central investigative agencies including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as 'tools' to target the Opposition leaders.

His remarks came following an CBI raid at the residence of senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak, a move the party claimed is politically motivated.

Speaking to IANS, Somnath Bharti said, “There’s an old English idiom that says, ‘When a dog bites a man, it’s not news. But when a man bites a dog, it is.’ Under the BJP regime, raids by ED or CBI on opposition leaders have become so common that they no longer surprise anyone. However, if these agencies were to target BJP leaders, that would be actual news.”

He added, “This has become a day-to-day activity. The use of ED and CBI as political weapons is a standard operating procedure under the BJP government.”

Bharti further alleged that the timing of the raid on Pathak was politically driven, given his growing prominence within the party and his recent appointment as co-incharge for AAP’s Gujarat campaign ahead of the 2027 state elections.

“There is massive anti-incumbency in Gujarat. Congress has never posed a real challenge to the BJP there. But AAP’s entry has disrupted their comfort zone. AAP has given BJP sleepless nights, and this raid is a reaction to that. Just like in previous cases, they won’t find anything because there is nothing to find,” Bharti asserted.

On the ongoing ED probe involving businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Bharti labeled it a “friendly match” between the BJP and Congress.

He said, “During Congress rule, no action was taken against BJP leaders, and the reverse is also true. These raids are often mere formalities—investigative processes without actual consequences. It's like do all the processes but not arrest.”

Robert Vadra is currently facing questioning by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to a 2008 land deal in Shikohpur, Haryana.

--IANS

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