What was need to arrest him in the night? Congress chief Kharge slams ED action against TN minister Senthil Balaji

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday condemned the arrest of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji by the ED in connection with a money laundering case, alleging that the Centre was misusing the probe agencies to harass and intimidate the Opposition. “I condemn the harassment of the Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji by ED. What was the need to arrest him in the night? Opposition parties will not be scared by all this,” said the Congress chief while talking to ANI on Wednesday.

#WATCH | I condemn the harassment of the TN minister Senthil Balaji by ED. What was the need to arrest him in the night? Opposition parties will not be scared by all this, says Congress Pres Mallikarjun Kharge on ED action against V Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case. pic.twitter.com/4HplnjV58m

— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2023

He said that the probe agency should have interrogated the minister after issuing notice to him first instead of making an arrest all of a sudden in the night. In a late-night drama-filled action, the ED took Balaji into custody after questioning and when he was being taken to Omandurar Government Hospital in Chennai for medical examination, the minister broke down in the car and had to be carried to the hospital.

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According to DMK leaders, Balaji complained of chest pain when he was being taken into custody by the ED. They also said that Balaji didn’t seem conscious when he was taken to the hospital by the probe agency. DMK MP and lawyer NR Elango said the minister has been shifted to ICU. “I saw him (Senthil Balaji) when he was shifted to ICU. Doctors are evaluating his health condition. It is a procedure when a person says he has been assaulted the doctor needs to note down all the injuries and will know after seeing the report…,” Elango said. DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “Senthil Balaji is undergoing treatment.” “We will deal with it legally. We are not afraid of the threatening politics of the BJP-led central government,” he added. Earlier in the day too, the Congress chief had issued a statement saying that the Modi government was indulging in vendetta politics. “This is nothing but political harassment and vendetta by the Modi government against those opposed to it. None of us in the Opposition will be intimidated by such brazen moves,” reads his statement. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.