New Delhi/Mumbai [India], August 3 : The Congress on Thursday said the Income Tax raids at a resort in Bengaluru were a tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proclamation of participatory federalism in the country and highlights the hypocrisy of the ruling government.
"This is a tribute to Prime Minister Modi's proclamation of participatory federalism in this country. It is a clear example of patent hypocrisy of this government and of the prime minister himself, who talks of federalism and then ends up doing this, just to win a particular seat in Gujarat?," Congress senior leader Salman Khurshid told ANI.
Khurshid said it is very shameful for the democracy of India, whose top leadership is taking such steps.
Another Congress leader Charan Singh Sapra said the grand old party is not against any I-T raidsl, but the timing of the raids is of utmost important.
"Prime Minister Modi and his government have been doing this witch-hunting in all spheres. The BJP wants to come in power and are desperate to have each and every seat,' Sapra told ANI. Earlier on Wednesday, the Income Tax department raided a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru where 42 Congress MLAs from Gujarat were holed up to avoid poaching by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat.
The I-T department raided on multiple locations linked to Karnataka Energy Minister D. K Shivakumar too, including his residence. The department recovered around Rs 7 crores from Shivakumar's properties that it found to be questionable.
The Congress on the other hand said that there was a clear connection between the raids and the upcoming elections in Gujarat for three Rajya Sabha seats, while the I-T department said this was a pre-planned raid.
Source: ANI