The Congress has distanced itself from its Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu in light of the significant amount of cash recovered from a liquor company linked to him.
What did the Income Tax Department find?
The Income Tax department, in a series of raids on an Odisha-based distillery group for alleged tax evasion, uncovered over Rs 225 crore in cash on Saturday.
The searches, conducted against Boudh Distillery Private Limited and affiliated entities, also extended to premises associated with Sahu, reportedly.
The seizure amount is anticipated to reach Rs 290 crore, marking it as the "highest-ever" black money recovery in a single operation by any agency, as per official sources.
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What did the Congress say?
AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh in a post on X wrote, "The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dhiraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties."
Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay told PTI, "The recovery of such a large amount of cash from his (Dhiraj Sahu) house is surprising. Dhiraj Sahu and his family should now justify this."
"I want to clarify that the party's stand on this issue is very clear. This is a personal issue of Dhiraj Sahu, and the Congress is not related to it," says Congress leader Avinash Pande.
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How did the BJP react?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured the people that the money looted from the public will be returned.
Taking to X, the Prime Minister said, "The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest speeches' of their leaders ..Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee."
The prime minister also tagged a Hindi newspaper where the cash recovered by the IT department was shown stacked.
The seizure of cash from some premises linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu in Income Tax department raids shows how the grand old party has kept the tradition of corruption alive generation after generation, the BJP said on Saturday.
At a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party leader and Union minister Meenakashi Lekhi said, "The cash seized from Sahu is the biggest haul of cash that has been seized from corrupt persons so far. This shows how the Congress has spread corruption generation after generation and the tradition of corruption has been kept alive."
"Rs 300 crore recovered from just one Congress leader and counting is still on. Imagine if all the corrupt leaders of Congress are kept together, how many notes will be recovered," she said.
BJP's Jharkhand unit president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi has also demanded the arrest of Congress Rajya Sabha MP.
