While the former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah disobeyed the second successive summon of the Enforcement Directorate in the infamous Jammu and Kashmir Cricket scam, the Congress on Wednesday came in support of the National Conference president and charged the Union Government with abusing central agencies to intimidate opposition leaders.
"A fresh summon was issued to Dr. Farooq Abdullah by the Enforcement Directorate only to intimidate the former Chief Minister who is making sincere efforts to strengthen the INDIA bloc in the country in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular", J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief Vikar Rasool Wani said.
Wani further said that within a span of just one month, two back-to-back summons were issued to the veteran politician, which was a clear indication of vindictive politics.
The J&K Congress president said that there is nothing new in the JKCA scam but the central government is abusing the federal agencies to terrorize opposition leaders against joining the INDIA bloc.
He said that Dr. Farooq Abdullah was targetted because he is trying to field common candidates against the BJP nominees in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Farooq skips appearance before ED
For the second time in a month, Dr Farooq Abdullah skipped his appearance before the ED office in Srinagar. Despite being summoned by the federal agency, this is the second time Abdullah has skipped visiting the ED office.
Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday informed the agency he will not appear before the ED office in Srinagar as he is out of town. He has communicated it to the ED officials through an email and a letter. He was asked to depose at the ED office in Srinagar on Tuesday, but he is currently in Jammu.
On January 10, this year, a summons was issued to Dr. Farooq Abdullah in which he was asked to appear before the ED, but he skipped his appearance, citing "health issues".
Earlier, Dr. Farooq Abdullah skipped his appearance before the Court in 2022 in the same scam for "health reasons."
Despite repeated summons, Dr. Farooq Abdullah has been skipping appearances before the Enforcement Directorate since May 2002 when he was questioned by the federal investigation agency.
On January 10, this year, a summons was issued to Dr. Farooq Abdullah in which he was asked to appear before the ED, but he skipped his appearance, citing "health issues".
Earlier, Dr. Farooq Abdullah skipped his appearance before the Court in 2022 in the same scam for "health reasons."
JKCA faced allegations of pocketing funds
The scam involved the accusation of embezzlement of funds allocated to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) when Dr. Farooq Abdullah was president of the body.
The funds were provided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the development of cricket infrastructure in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is alleged that instead of properly utilizing the amount, the funds were siphoned off by top officials of the JKCA for personal gain.
