JD(U) slams Modi govt over ED searches against TN minister

JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ on Tuesday dubbed the Enforcement Directorate's searches against a minister in Tamil Nadu as a ''desperate reaction of the Narendra Modi government'' ahead of the meeting of opposition parties called by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who heads the DMK, is among those who have agreed to attend the June 23 meeting to be held here.

Lalan, a close aide of Kumar, the JD(U)'s supreme leader, took to Twitter to express his outrage.

''ED has raided the house of Thiru V Senthil Balaji in Tamil Nadu which is a panic and desperate reaction of @NarendraModi government keeping in mind the meeting of all opposition parties convened by Sri Nitish Kumar Ji in Patna on 23rd June,” the JD(U) chief tweeted. ''BJP government is misusing the constitutional institutions against opposition parties to defame'' governments run by these in states, he alleged.

He also expressed apprehensions of ''more such action'' against leaders opposed to the BJP in the run up to the conclave.

''JD(U) strongly condemns such arbitrary and malafide action by central government led by Hon’ble Prime Minister,” added Lalan, tagging Stalin and the minister in his tweet.

Besides Stalin, other leaders expected at the meeting are Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.