Opposition parties have rallied together under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged “political vendetta” against them by “misusing” agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED). They have cited the arrests of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren, and Telangana lawmaker K Kavitha in graft cases.

INDIA bloc has pointed out disproportionate action against the opposition leaders in contrast to those who switched sides, joined the BJP, or allied with it. The opposition has hit out at the closure of the corruption case against Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel after his party joined the BJP-led alliance. Colloquially the opposition calls instances like these the “BJP’s washing machine”.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi took potshots at the BJP for inducting former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy ,who is an accused in a mining scam. “Janardhan Reddy, accused in the ₹35,000 crore scam, joined the BJP. 20 different cases are against him, including 9 CBI cases. There are allegations of destroying forests and mines. There are allegations of an attempt to buy the judge for ₹40 crore instead of bail,” she wrote on X.

The BJP has maintained that the government was committed to making the country corruption-free. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the face of the BJP’s election campaign, told party leaders to highlight the contrast between the “corrupt opposition” and his “clean image”.

Now with the “washing machine” narrative beginning to resonate on the ground, Modi has defended the action against “corrupt leaders”. In an interview with HT’s sister publication Hindustan, he said only 3% of the cases being probed by the ED are of politicians. “Steps are being taken even in states where the BJP is in power. The narratives you have heard that it is only political corruption that we are after, are being circulated by people who are under the sword of investigative agencies,” he said.

Modi said that those “who see benefits in a corrupt system are the ones who are crying foul and presenting the wrong picture in front of the people.”