The Congress on Thursday again alleged that central investigative agencies were being misused to selectively target Opposition leaders, continuing with its campaign to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of duplicity on corruption.

“What the Prime Minister is doing is wrong. The country will not forgive him,” Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said.

He alleged that the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and income-tax department were being misused to target the BJP’s opponents, and even influence elections.

“Raids are continuing despite the model code of conduct coming into force. The ED, which is supposed to look into money laundering, is everywhere,” Gehlot said at a news conference in Delhi.

“It (ED) is acting like the BJP’s advance party in poll-bound states. What’s happening in the country? The agencies should work independently to enforce the law, not as a tool of a political party.”

Gehlot argued that it was important in a democracy that investigating agencies retain their credibility and people not lose faith in the system.

“Modi is a classic example of… (duplicity). Two days after he defamed the NCP for corruption to the tune of (Rs) 70,000 crore, the main accused Ajit Pawar was inducted into the BJP and given the finance portfolio in Maharashtra. You earn immunity from the law by joining the BJP,” he said.

“Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat is an accused in the Sanjeevani scam in Rajasthan. It is a fit case for the ED because there are recorded international transactions. We have written to the Centre several times but no action has been taken.

“A BJP MP, Kirodi Lal Meena, said a few days ago that Rs 500 crore (in cash) and 50kg gold were lying in private lockers in Jaipur. The ED and income-tax authorities reached there while the police should first look into the complaint.”

“There was complicity between the central government and the MP. Modi and Amit Shah treat opponents as enemies. Time will teach them a lesson.”

Gehlot alleged that the trend of misusing the ED, CBI and income-tax authorities had emerged under Modi.

“While there were 112 raids by the ED in the 10 years of UPA rule, the number shot up to 3,010 in the nine years under Modi. While chargesheets were filed in 93 per cent of the cases during the UPA’s time, they have filed chargesheets in only 29 per cent of the cases now. The whole country is helpless,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi spoke on the same theme, pointing to the selective targeting of Opposition politicians by central agencies.

“The KCR government (of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana) is thoroughly corrupt; other parts of the country learn techniques of loot from this government,” he told a poll rally in Telangana.

“The Modi government targets all Opposition leaders; cases are slapped on us by the ED, CBI and income-tax. But there are no cases against the Telangana chief minister. The BRS and the AIMIM are secretly aligned with the BJP. That’s why the ED and the CBI are not unleashed on them.”

Rahul referred to Adani at this rally too, a day after alleging the businessman was stealing money from the people of India and that Modi was protecting him.

Party communications chief Jairam Ramesh too highlighted the allegations against Adani.

“Recently, the Organised Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found clinching evidence that Adani associates were controlling opaque shell companies in overseas tax havens that had amassed huge stakes in Adani Group companies,” he posted on X on Thursday.

“All this was done in blatant violation of SEBI regulations. Major global papers like the Financial Times and The Guardian covered the story in detail.”

Ramesh added: “The Adani Group and its minions in the BJP attempted to discredit OCCRP as ‘Soros-funded interests’. Now, it emerges that Sebi itself had approached OCCRP to get access to the documents proving that Adani was in fact indulging in round-tripping and money-laundering benami funds.

“Will Adani apologists attack Sebi as conspiring with Soros? Does this not prove that Sebi is finally taking these disclosures seriously and attempting to fulfil its duty to the nation.”

George Soros is a Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist known to espouse liberal causes whom the BJP suspects of funding lobbies opposed to the Modi government.