New Delhi, July 27 (UNI) In a major verdict delivered on Wednesday, the Supreme Court has declared that the Enforcement Directorate has the powers conferred under the law to investigate people, conduct searches and raids, and even arrest citizens under the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A number of petitioners, including Congress Lok Sabha member Karti Chidambaram, had approached the apex court challenging the powers of the ED under the PMLA.
The court declared the ED’s actions cannot be called arbitrary and it has the power to attach properties of people suspected of money laundering. In recent times, opposition parties have accused the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “weaponizing” the ED and misusing it to target dissidents, and opposition leaders and intimidate them. The Congress has been organizing protests all over the country even as the ED continues its interrogation of leader Sonia Gandhi CVoter conducted a nationwide survey on behalf of IANS soon after the Supreme Court verdict came out to gauge what ordinary Indians felt about the controversial issue. The survey was conducted using random sampling techniques and covered almost all demographic, ethnic, in- come and educational categories in the country.
In what could be a jolt to the opposition, 82.5 percent of the respondents overall agreed with the verdict of the apex court. What should worry the opposition camp, even more, is the fact that 78.2 percent of respondents who identify themselves as opposition supporters backed the apex court decision. There is near unanimity across all categories of respondents; perhaps a signal that Indian citizens want genuine and concrete action against allegedly corrupt politicians and officials. The “least” enthusiastic response came from the Muslim community; though 69 percent supported the apex court verdict upholding the powers of the ED. In recent times, the ED has been very aggressive and proactive in taking action against not just opposition politicians, but also many private sector companies and individuals allegedly involved in money laundering operations. According to a response provided by the government to the Parliament.
