Blaming the NDA government of misusing state agencies, the Opposition on Wednesday raised the income-tax raids against Karnataka minister, DK Shivakumar in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
A series of investigations were conducted at a Bengaluru resort where 42 MLAs from Gujarat are staying since 30 July and the properties of the minister . According to PTI, Rs 5 crore in cash was recovered from the minister’s residence in Delhi.
Senior Congress leader, Anand Sharma questioned the timing of the raids. “It is now becoming a trend to blatantly misuse powers of the state. This minister was coordinating the stay of the Gujarat MLAs, that is why it is a targeted timing,” he said.
Countering him, union minister Arun Jaitley said that the minister had “parked himself” in the resort and the area is not immune to conduct searches.
“No MLA has been searched. A particular individual had to be searched. He had parked himself in that resort. As of now, they have taken him into his residence. No search or tax officers are at the resort. A Minister of Karnataka has been searched. The resort is not an immunity area. He has been taken to his residence and questioned there,” Jaitley said.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said the houses of BJP leaders, who are involved in horse trading, need to be searched. “Conduct raids on residences of those people from your party (BJP) who are offering Rs 15 crores,” he said.
Rajya Sabha was briefly adjourned after members of the Opposition trooped to the well of deputy chairman, P J Kurien and raised slogans.
However, the IT claimed that the raids were planned well in advance, “The timing of the search was decided well in advance. The events involving certain MLAs of another state being brought to Karnataka were unforeseen and unpredictable events,” the department said.
