‘Superstar campaigners’: Congress takes a swipe at BJP on Ankit Tiwari arrest

The Congress on Saturday hit out at BJP over the arrest of an Enforcement Directorate official in Tamil Nadu for allegedly extorting Rs 20 lakh from a local doctor. Congress’s senior leader Jairam Ramesh taunted by calling BJP “superstar campaigners” has stumbled yet again.

“One of the superstar campaigners of the BJP has stumbled yet again, this time in Tamil Nadu. Weeks after an ED official was caught with a Rs 15 lakhs bribe in Rajasthan, another official of the ED was caught red-handed with Rs 20 lakhs for extortion and bribery,” said Ramesh.

Ramesh added that the Modi government has completely damaged the reputation of the ED, CBI and IT by turning them into political tools to harass and intimidate the Opposition.

“Now its officers running their own mini extortion rackets,” added Ramesh.

The Tamil Nadu government arrested ED officer Ankit Tiwari on Friday over the allegations.

Meanwhile, taking to X, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran called the ED, 'Extortion Department'.

"This shatters the faith citizens have in public institutions, making one wonder if ED stands for Extortion Department or Enforcement Directorate after being systematically misused by the BJP government to brazenly terrorize and extort political opponents and critics across the country," said Dayanidhi.

While BJP leader K. Annamalai said that this is not the first time such an incident has happened.

"Earlier too, many have been caught and arrested from specialised agencies like CBI and ED in states like Rajasthan, West Bengal and Delhi...We can't blame the ED for a single individual's mistake," Annamalai was quoted by ANI.