Opposition parties, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), upped the ante against the BJP-led NDA Government and knocked at the gates of the Election Commission (EC) with their respective complaints.
TMC leaders were detained by the Delhi Police on Monday while they were holding a dharna outside the EC's office, demanding that the chiefs of CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax Department be changed.
The Congress moved the EC with six complaints, two of which were directed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark targeting the party and comparing its Lok Sabha poll manifesto with that of the Muslim League.
Modi has said in his election rallies that the Congress' manifesto for the upcoming general election smacks of the "politics of appeasement" and carries the imprint of the Muslim League, with "every page reeking of breaking India".
Separately a 10-member delegation of TMC announced a dharna after meeting a full bench of the EC to press for their demand.
TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, MLA Vivek Gupta, former MPs Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen and Abir Ranjan Biswas, and party's students' wing West Bengal vice president Sudip Raha were detained.
Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh said party leaders Salman Kurshid, Pawan Khera, Mukul Wasnik and Gurdeep Sappal met with the EC and complained that Modi said the Congress manifesto is an attempt to divide India.
"This is the time for the Election Commission to demonstrate its independence by ensuring a level playing field for all parties," Ramesh said.
Congress chief media and publicity leader Pawan Khera said they raised many issues with the EC and lodged a strong objection to the Prime Minister's remark saying that the Congress manifesto carries the imprint of the Muslim League.
In its complaint, the Congress also alleged that the BJP has been using Armed forces for election campaigning in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
Other complaints registered by the Congress against several leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections include a claim that Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar has presented false information pertaining to his financial status in the election affidavit.
In March 2024, Rajeev Chandrasekhar was announced as the BJP candidate from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram Constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On their part TMC has been alleging that the Central probe agencies have been targeting Opposition parties at the behest of the BJP-led Centre. "The BJP is misusing Central agencies against us. The way NIA, ED and CBI are working and targeting TMC leaders is shameful. We would request the EC to ensure a level playing field for all political parties," Sen said.
The TMC alleged on Sunday that there is an "unholy alliance" between the NIA and the BJP ahead of elections, prompting the Central investigating agency to deny any mala fide intention and label the entire controversy as "unfortunate".
A team of the NIA was allegedly attacked by a mob on Saturday when it went to arrest two main suspects in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, sparking a political slugfest with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the investigators of assaulting the villagers.
