New Delhi/Hyderabad | The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided the premises of BRS leader K Kavitha in Hyderabad as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

It was not clear if the action is linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy linked case of the central agency in which the ED has questioned the BRS MLC and daughter of former Telangana chief minister Chandrashekar Rao. The ED had claimed Kavitha was linked to a "South Group" lobby of liquor traders who were trying to play a larger role under the now scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.

Reacting to the searches, BRS spokesperson Sravan Dasoju alleged that the raids were politically motivated and both BJP and Congress are hand-in-glove to harass leaders of the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party.

“Wherever ( Prime Minister Narendra) Modi goes ED and IT ( Income Tax) either precedes or succeeds. That is what is happening in Telangana. They want to create a panic situation in the BRS. The ED and IT which are working at the behest of BJP are not bothered about the Congress leaders of Telangana who have illegally obtained so much wealth,” the BRS leader told PTI.

Sravan sought to know why the BJP is “tightlipped” on the cases against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

“We believe in Satyameva Jayate. Let the truth prevail. We are not saying that IT and ED should not do their jobs, but the selectiveness is vindictiveness. Just before the elections, they are trying to do this mudslinging to dent the image of the BRS,” he added.

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks to the tune of at least Rs 100 crore from the "South Group" (allegedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) on behalf of leaders of the AAP