The Opposition on Friday alleged that the Centre sought an extension in Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s tenure for ulterior political motives, PTI reported.
They alleged that the extension was aimed at targeting the leaders of the Opposition INDIA alliance with “false cases” in order to weaken it.
The Supreme Court on Thursday extended Mishra’s tenure till September 15 in “larger public interest” and to allow the “smooth functioning” of the agency.
On July 11, the court had held that two extensions given to Mishra in November 2021 and November 2022 were illegal. It had, however, permitted him to continue at the post till July 31.
This was after the Centre expressed concern over finding a new chief in the middle of a peer review being carried out by the Financial Action Task Force.
On Friday, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha claimed that there was talk in the corridors of power that there would be an attempt to “break the INDIA alliance by resorting to lies”. He said: “It has been done for ulterior political motives...We know about this and we want to tell this to the government.”
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari asked why Mishra was given an extension for only a month-and-a-half and what would happen during this period, reported PTI.
“They [BJP] did everything to destabilise governments in Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, but failed politically,” he alleged. “Now, they are using agencies and want to slap false cases on opposition leaders.... INDIA has come to the fore and is saying BJP quit power.”
Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev alleged that the Enforcement Directorate is a “weapon that works for the BJP”, reported PTI.
“The Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand governments were targeted using agencies,” she alleged. “They wanted to destablise these governments and weaken the INDIA alliance.”
Mishra had first been appointed as the Enforcement Directorate director for a period of two years on November 19, 2018. In 2020, his tenure was extended for a year by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government.
In September 2021, the Supreme Court had directed the government not to extend Mishra’s tenure any further. But despite the ruling, the government introduced two ordinances to ensure that the directors of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation could have tenures of up to five years. This allowed Mishra to continue for another year.
In November 2022, the government again extended the 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service officer’s tenure for a year. He was to remain in office till November 18, 2023, according to the notification issued by the government.
These extensions had been challenged before the Supreme Court by Opposition leaders.
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