The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice on Monday as Congress members rushed to the well, alleging that the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI were being used against the Chief Ministers and former Chief Ministers of the Opposition, while no action was taken against the Chief Ministers of the BJP.
Congress leader Anand Sharma, whose notice under Rule 267 to raise the matter was rejected by the Chair, raised the issue. He alleged misuse of these agencies by the Centre. His intervention comes at a time when the ED has served summons on Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh over money-laundering charges.
“FIRs are being registered against Chief Ministers, whereas this government is covering up the wrongdoings of its own Chief Ministers in respect of money-laundering, land allotment for commercial purposes, and on the land which they have given in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in the name of newspapers and magazines, commercial complexes have come up,” Mr. Sharma said. “The CBI and the ED are being used for political vendetta... They cannot have two sets of rules for the Opposition-ruled States and the BJP-ruled ones,” Mr. Sharma said.
Kurien’s warning
“You cannot force me by coming to the well and shouting. Even if you come and shout here, I am not going to be cowed down by that. I am not going to allow [the notice under Rule 267],” Mr. Kurien said.
