ED, CBI have become instruments of political vendetta: Cong

New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) In an oblique reference to the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by the CBI in connection with the excise policy scam, the Congress on Monday termed the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax Department "harassment tools" of the BJP-led Central government.

"@INCIndia has always held the belief that institutions like the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department have become instruments of political vendetta and harassment under 'Modi Sarkar'. These institutions have lost all professionalism. Opposition leaders are selectively targeted to destroy their reputation," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, without mentioning anything about the arrest of the deputy of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Congress' reaction has come 24 hours after Sisodia was arrested by the CBI following a day-long questioning on Sunday, even as the leaders of the party's Delhi unit welcomed the move. In fact, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi had come up with a clarification after initially supporting Sisodia.

Singhvi tweeted: "It is but obvious that my tweet at 3.36 p.m. on February 26 on Manish Sisodia was in the context of my appearance for him as senior counsel in many cases and not on behalf of the Congress party, though space constraints made me inadvertently omit the mentioning of this fact."

On Sunday, Singhvi, who is a senior lawyer, tweeted: "God be with Manish ji. Distressing to see such repeated, flagrant, egregious and shameless misuse of arrest power. #Sisodia Cnot be flight risk, suborning evidence or witnesses or non cooperation after almost a year of investigation & interrogation. How & why arrest after so long?"

According to a source, the reason for the late reaction was the silence of the Aam Aadmi Party when Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were summoned by the ED.

However, many Opposition leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, have condemned Sisodia's arrest.

"The arrest of @msisodia by CBI is another example of how @BJP4India misuses the Union government's agencies to intimidate the opposition. It's a blatant abuse of power and an attack on democracy. Such repression undermines the very foundation of our nation and should be resisted," he tweeted.