‘BJP’s frontal organisation’: Congress slams ED over just 2 convictions in 193 political cases since 2015

The Congress party has slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government for allegedly using central investigating agencies to intimidate political opponents. The party alleged that the Modi government sends summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to opposition leaders every time an election approaches.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate accused PM Modi of converting ED into a ‘frontal’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “As elections approach – Narendra Modi, who sent ED summons to the opposition, has made ED a frontal of BJP,” Shrinate said in a post on X.

ED is being used to intimidate political opponents, she charged.

193 cases by ED, 2 convictions

Shrinate’s remarks came after the Modi government informed Parliament that the ED had registered a total of 193 cases against politicians, including serving and former Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), over the last 10 years and secured conviction in two of those.

“We have been saying this all along, now the Modi government itself is accepting this with figures,” the Congress leader said.

Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has said this in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha that the federal anti-money laundering agency had filed cases against politicians, including existing and former MPs, MLAs and MLCs, as well as people affiliated with political parties, but a state-wise data of the same is not maintained.

Chaudhary said the ED filed 193 cases against this category of persons between April 2015 and February 2025.

The minister added that two cases, one during the 2016-17 fiscal and another in 2019-20, led to convictions and that there was no acquittal. He did not mention the cases or the names of the accused in the reply.

Both Convictions from Jharkhand

Former Jharkhand minister Hari Narayan Rai was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹5 lakh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2017, while another former minister from the state, Anosh Ekka, was sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and slapped with a fine of ₹2 crore in 2020.

The ED probed both as part of a money-laundering investigation against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda. It is not clear if the two convicted politicians appealed against the sentences pronounced by special PMLA courts in Ranchi.

A maximum number of 32 cases against former and serving legislators were filed by the ED during 2022-23.

The ED probes financial crimes under two criminal laws – the PMLA and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA) – besides launching investigations under the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

“ED takes up the cases for investigation based on credible evidence/material and does not distinguish cases based on political affiliations, religion or otherwise,” the minister said in his reply.

“Further, the actions of ED are always open to judicial review,” he added.

The agency is accountable to different judicial fora like the Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal of the PMLA, special courts, high courts and the Supreme Court for the actions taken in the course of implementing the PMLA, FEMA and FEOA, Chaudhary said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is the law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under the Department of Revenue of the Union Ministry of Finance.