The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday withdrew the general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases in the state. The move came hours after the Enforcement Directorate arrested state electricity minister Senthil Balaji in connection with a cash-for-job scam case.
The central probe agency will now have to take prior permission from the state government to conduct investigation in the state. Nine opposition states—Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal—have already withdrawn the general consent to the CBI, accusing the Narendra Modi government of misusing the central agencies.
The ruling DMK has hit out at the ED raids at Balaji's residence and his arrest, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin calling it as "an assault on federalism".
Stalin, who is the DMK President, stepped up his attack on the BJP and charged the ED officials with "enacting a drama" in the name of inquiry and accused them of "physically and mentally troubling" Balaji.
"They had pressured him to the point of him suffering chest pain," Stalin alleged in a statement.
Several opposition parties have also condemned the arrest of Balaji.
"Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge condemns the late-night arrest of Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Shri V. Senthil Balaji by the ED," the Congress said in a statement.
"This is nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi government against those opposed to it. None of us in the Opposition will be intimidated by such brazen moves," it added.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the manner in which the arrest was made is very objectionable.
"CBI and ED should be renamed as 'BJP's Army'... We condemn the raid and arrest of a minister in Tamil Nadu," he said.
CPI leader D. Raja pointed out that the raid took place a few days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed the BJP would win 25 Lok Sabha seats during a visit to Tamil Nadu.
"It's highly objectionable that ED can go inside the Secretariat. If the BJP thinks they can win seats in Tamil Nadu by doing this, they are living in a fool's paradise. Tamil Nadu will not allow BJP," he said.
CPI(M) Secretary Tamil Nadu State Committee K Balakrishnan strongly condemned the "central government and its ED wing" for the arrest of Balaji.
The National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed with solidarity with the DMK and Balaji.
