Congress Rift Behind ED Action? Pralhad Joshi Alleges Party Insiders Tipped Off Agency on Parameshwara
Bengaluru:
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has stirred the political pot in Karnataka by claiming that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent actions against Home Minister G Parameshwara are the result of infighting within the Congress party — not pressure from the opposition.
In response to the ED’s raids on institutions linked to Parameshwara amid a gold smuggling probe, Joshi alleged that it was Congress members themselves who tipped off the agency.
“Who’s writing to the ED? It’s not us — it’s a faction within the Congress,” Joshi stated. “They are feeding information and now creating a drama about it. Let me be clear — we respect Parameshwara, he’s a decent politician. But these complaints are coming from inside their own party. Siddaramaiah knows this. The intelligence department is under him — ask him.”
He emphasized that the ED acts only when it receives credible inputs and not based on a person’s political post. “The agency will follow leads, whether the person is a minister or not,” he added.
The controversy erupted after the ED raided educational trusts connected to Parameshwara as part of a larger money laundering investigation linked to gold smuggling. According to the ED, Rs 40 lakh was paid from the trust to cover the credit card dues of Ranya Rao, a key accused in the case — allegedly on the instructions of a powerful figure.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar came to Parameshwara’s defense, suggesting the payment could have been a generous wedding gift. “He might’ve given something for the wedding — we give Rs 1, Rs 10, Rs 5 lakh or even Rs 10 lakh as gifts. There’s nothing unusual about that in public life,” Shivakumar said.
When questioned about Shivakumar’s explanation, Parameshwara replied, “Ask DK Shivakumar,” and affirmed he would fully cooperate with the investigation.
The Congress party, meanwhile, has accused the BJP of trying to politicize the gold smuggling case to attack the ruling government, even as this fresh angle of internal dissent deepens the political drama.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
