New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday condemned the Enforcement Directorate searches at educational institutions linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, alleging that the probe agency's actions were being undertaken at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reflect the politics of vendetta.

The ED is conducting searches at educational institutions linked to the Karnataka minister at Tumakuru and on the outskirts of Bengaluru, official sources said.

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According to sources, the searches were underway at Sri Siddhartha Medical College and Sri Siddhartha Institute Of Technology in Tumakuru and Sri Siddhartha Institute Of Medical Sciences in Nelamangala on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

The reasons for the searches are not yet known.

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In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The INC condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the ED raids on the Home Minister of Karnataka. Dr. G. Parameshwara is one of the senior-most political leaders of the country who has made great contributions to the cause of education, particularly that of the weaker sections of society."

"The ED actions undertaken at the behest of the prime minister himself reflect the politics of harassment, vendetta, and intimidation of which he is the master," he said.

The BJP is clearly nervous and worried by the achievements of the Karnataka government over the past two years, he said.

"We will not be silenced. We will continue to hold the PM to account for his multiple failures on multiple fronts," Ramesh said.

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did not wish to make any comments on ED searches stating he was not aware of it, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, while pointing out that Parameshwara was a tall Scheduled Caste leader, said the raids appear to be a desperate attempt to coverup the corruption of previous BJP governments and stifle the voice of those who champion the voice of the oppressed.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)