A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided premises linked to Congress MLA NA Haris’ sons in connection with the bitcoin case, leaders from the Congress and BJP engaged in a war of words.
On Monday, April 20, the ED conducted searches at 12 locations across Karnataka, including the Bengaluru residences of Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad. The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal financial transactions involving hacker Srikrishna Ramesh, also known as Sriki, and others accused of money laundering.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was unaware of the raids. However, on Tuesday, April 21, Siddaramaiah accused the ED of selective targeting. He alleged that the central government was deliberately targeting the Congress and asked if the ED would raid any BJP leader’s house.
Senior Congress leaders, such as IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge and Karnataka Congress chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar defended Haris’ sons.
Kharge noted that Mohammed Haris Nalapad had acknowledged knowing Sriki. “He has openly admitted that he is acquainted with Sriki and has been transparent about their friendship,” Kharge said, adding that Nalapad’s name had surfaced in an earlier incident but that he was not found to be involved.
Questioning the basis of the searches, Shivakumar asked, “On what grounds have these raids been conducted?” He described the action as politically motivated and asserted that nothing incriminating would be found. He also referred to a previous ED case involving Haris, maintaining that “he has no connection to that either.”
Kharge further accused the ED of selectively targeting Congress leaders. “If this is linked to the Bitcoin scam, then bigger names should have been raided,” he said, without elaborating. He urged the agency to file a chargesheet clarifying the grounds for the raid and claimed that the ED’s conviction rate remains below 2%. “Whenever the ED intervenes, it appears political. They are acting like puppets of the BJP government,” he added.
In contrast, Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje backed the ED’s raid, calling bitcoin-related activity a serious financial crime. She alleged that the agency had credible information suggesting that “Congress-linked politicians” invested funds abroad through cryptocurrency.