TMC terms CBI raids on Lawyer's Collective, Indira Jaising as govt 'vendetta'

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) Thursday termed the raids carried out by the CBI on former additional solicitor general Indira Jaising and her husband Anand Grover as "vendetta" and alleged that the government was harassing all the "voices of opposition".

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at Jaising's residence and offices of Lawyers Collective, an NGO run by Grover, a noted lawyer, who has been booked by the agency for alleged Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) violations in receiving foreign aid.

The searches are taking place at the Nizamuddin residence and office of Jaising, office of the NGO in Jangpura and an office in Mumbai from 5.00 am, officials said.

"The CBI raid at the residence of Indira Jaising and Anand Grover is yet another example of the many instances of vendetta. This govt is harassing citizens and all voices of opposition. This is a #SuperEmergency," TMC national spokesperson Derek O' Brien tweeted.

The CBI had filed an FIR against Grover and the NGO on the basis of a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has alleged several discrepancies in the utilisation of foreign aid received by the group.

According to the complaint by the MHA, which is now a part of the FIR, the group had received foreign aid worth over Rs 32.39 crore between 2006-07 and 2014-15, wherein irregularities were committed that amounted to violation of the FCRA.

Jaising is not named as an accused in the FIR but her alleged role figures in the ministry's complaint.