Congress leader Anand Sharma on Friday warned central agencies against “acting at the behest” of political parties leading the government. His statement follows the Central Bureau of Investigation’s decision to register a new case against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of 1,417 acres of land in Gurugram in 2009.

Sharma repeated his party’s allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government is misusing central agencies. “Officials must hear this. The governments do not have any permanency,” Sharma said. “There are a few weeks left for the general elections to begin. It is certain this government is rattled. The prime minister is staring at an imminent defeat, that is why these actions.”

Anand Sharma accused the BJP government of using the central agencies to “discredit and disturb” its political opponents. “When the new government resumes office, all such actions, officers and persons who have at the behest of their political masters of today tried to harass, intimidate, frame and defame the political opponents will be held to account and made to answer,” Sharma added.

Meanwhile, Hooda has claimed that the case is a result of political vendetta, ANI reported. “I will fight this battle myself,” Hooda said. “I have complete faith in the judiciary. No one can silence my voice.”

Earlier on Thursday, ANI reported that the agency is also conducting searches at Hooda’s home in Rohtak and more than 30 places in Delhi and the National Capital Region in connection with the alleged scam.

On January 4, Hooda and senior Congress leader Motilal Vora were granted bail in another land allotment case. A CBI court granted them bail in a case related to an alleged illegal re-allotment of a plot to Associated Journals Limited in Panchkula district.

The CBI had on December 1 filed a chargesheet against Hooda and Vora in the case. The agency claimed that the re-allotment of the plot to the Associated Journals Limited had caused a loss of Rs 67 lakh to the exchequer. The CBI said Associated Journals was allotted a plot of land in Panchkula in 1982, on which no construction took place for 10 years. The Haryana Urban Development Authority then took back possession of the plot. In 2005, the same plot was allocated to Associated Journals Ltd at 1982 prices.