Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, on Friday, cautioned the Narendra Modi government against using investigative agencies to pursue "political vendetta".
The Enforcement Directorate has got more powers than ever under the Modi government, and these powers should be used judiciously, he said.
also read
- Modi conferred Bhutan's highest civilian honour; says goals of youth in India and Bhutan are similar
- Rahul's 'fight against Shakti' remark sparks row; PM Modi hits back
- Cabinet meet: PM Modi asks ministers to draft roadmap for first 100 days
- Third term sure for Modi, say renowned astrologers
- ‘Appeasement politics resulted in ruin of our heritage’, says PM Modi at Sabarmati Ashram
Singh's comments came at a time when his former cabinet colleague P. Chidambaram is in jail after being arrested in the INX Media case.
In Maharashtra, NCP leader Praful Patel has been called for questioning by the ED with regard to a property deal. The agency has also named NCP chief Sharad Pawar in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam.
"I sincerely hope that investigating agencies will not be used to settle scores with politicians of different hues," Singh, whose own government had once faced allegations of using central agencies such as CBI for political gains, said.
"The ED has now got more powers than it had ever before. Our hope is these powers will be used not to settle political scores," he said, addressing a press conference here ahead of Maharashtra assembly polls.
He was replying to a question about the ED summoning Patel, another former ministerial colleague of his.
Singh expressed confidence that the government will ensure that Patel gets justice, underlining that he should be presumed innocent till proven guilty.