‘ED raid being planned on me over Chakravyuh speech on Budget 2024, waiting with open arms’ claims Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed on August 2 that the Enforcement Directorate is planning to raid him following his ‘Chakravyuh’ speech during the discussion on the Budget 2024. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, said he would, however, wait for the central probe agency with ‘chai and biscuits.’

‘Apparently, 2 in 1 didn’t like my Chakravyuh speech. ED ‘insiders’ tell me a raid is being planned," Gandhi said in a post on X, perhaps, referring to Home Minister Amit Shah by ’2 in 1.' 

Speaking in Lok Sabha on July 29, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government had stabbed the middle class in the front and the back with announcements in Budget 2024 amid an ‘atmosphere of fear’ across the country.

“Waiting with open arms @dir_ed …..Chai and biscuits on me,” Gandhi said in the post tagging Enforcement Directorate X handle.

Gandhi invoked the Chakravyuh metaphor from the Mahabharata to target the ruling party. Chakravyuh(a labyrinth of fear)was a battle formation that led to the death of Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu. Gandhi said the country is trapped in Chakravyuh, which is represented by the lotus symbol that PM Modi wears on his chest. He noted that the Chakravyuh was used to trap Abhimanyu.

Gandhi spoke amid furore by Bhartiya Janata Party(BJP) lawmakers over his remarks about Chakravyuh of 6 people that, he said, has trapped the country.

"I expected that this budget would weaken the power of Chakravyuh. However, the sole aim of this budget is to strengthen the framework of big businesses, monopoly businesses, and political monopolies, which destroy democratic structures. This Chakravyuh has attacked the MSMEs through Demonitisation, GST, and Tax terrorism," Gandhi said in Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi named entities that had India in this Chakravyuh. Upon drawing flak from the speaker Om Birla, he said he would remove NSA, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani's names from it.

Chakravyuh controlling India has three controlling powers. They are the idea of monopoly capital, the political monopoly, and you may say, Deep State, the agencies – CBI and ED,” he said.

Earlier after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Bugdet 2024 in the Lok Sabha on July 23, Gandhi, MP from Raebareli, lashed out at PM Modi's government, calling the Budget 2024 a ‘kursi bachao’ Budget ‘favouring’ BJP allies and cronies.

“Kursi Bachao Budget. Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states. Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian. Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets,” the Raebareli lawmaker wrote on X soon after Sitharaman presented the Budget.

Gandhi referred to significant allocations to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh- the two state governments governed by BJP allies, the JD-U and the TDP.