Cases against ‘convenient allies’ will vanish, says Congress; targets BJP over Arvind Kejriwal relief

NEW DELHI: Following the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, Congress on Friday called BJP "not a political party but a shape-shifter, wishful serpent", which will "stoop to any level to defeat Congress". BJP is following a predictable script of accelerating cases against Congress senior functionaries like P Chidambaram while "proceedings against their convenient ‘allies' in AAP and others will quietly vanish in light of the Gujarat and Punjab elections", Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.Khera also drew a parallel with Trinamool Congress, saying PM Narendra Modi's recent praise for the Bengal party after 12 years of spewing venom was to "land a cheap blow" at Congress. Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav also said that "despite serious corruption allegations, Arvind Kejriwal is attempting to mislead the public by pretending to be cleaned in BJP's ‘washing machine' of his corruption stigma". Pointing out that the Punjab excise case of Rs 12,000 crore has remained in the cold storage, Punjab leader of the opposition Partap Bajwa called it "a friendly match, a velvet glove boxing by BJP and AAP", in return for favours like AAP govt not allowing farmers' protest against the India-US trade deal. Yadav said that on June 3, 2022, Delhi Congress had filed a complaint against the liquor policy and raised the issue of violation of Master Plan 2021. On Sept 5, 2022, evidence was submitted to Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police. "If the investigation had been impartial, both senior BJP functionaries and Kejriwal would have been within the ambit of the law. On the contrary, the actions of CBI and ED appear to be influenced by electoral exigencies," he claimed.However, Congress allies, including DMK chief MK Stalin, RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, CPM, Shiv Sena (UBT) and National Conference, as well as Congress' Manish Tewari, KL Sharma and Margaret Alva welcomed the order, slamming BJP for "political vendetta". Congress was replaced by AAP in Punjab in 2022 and it fancies its chances in the state following the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In Guajarat, Congress was dented badly by AAP in the 2022 state polls.