Recovery of cash: Congress says party in 'no way connected with businesses of Dheeraj Sahu'
New Delhi, Dec 10: The Congress on Saturday distanced itself from its Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu after the recovery of a huge amount of cash from a liquor company linked to him.
"The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj 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," AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
The Income Tax department recovered over Rs 225 crore cash during a series of raids on an Odisha-based distillery group on charges of tax evasion.
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.
A huge pile of cash has been recovered so far in the searches conducted by the Income Tax department against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited and entities linked to it. Premises linked to Sahu were also covered as part of the searches, according to officials.
The seizure amount is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, official sources said 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.
सांसद धीरज साहू के बिज़नेस से भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस का कोई लेना-देना नहीं है। सिर्फ़ वही बता सकते हैं, और उन्हें यह स्पष्ट करना भी चाहिए, कि कैसे आयकर अधिकारियों द्वारा कथित तौर पर उनके ठिकानों से इतनी बड़ी मात्रा में कैश बरामद किया जा रहा है।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 9, 2023
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Family of injured driver in murder of Suvendu's aide seeks exemplary punishment
Kolkata (PTI): The family of Buddhabeb Bera, the driver injured in the shooting that killed BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible and urged the new government to ensure such incidents do not happen in West Bengal.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram near Kolkata on Wednesday night, triggering a political storm in the state. Bera, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, sustained gunshot wounds and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Family members said they learned about the incident through television and immediately left for Kolkata.
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"We came to know from TV reports that my nephew had been shot. We still do not know who carried out the attack or why it happened," Buddhabeb's uncle Biswajit Bera said.
"Our only wish now is that he recovers and returns home safely," he added.
Buddhabeb, 25, hails from Majnaberia village in the Chandipur police station area in Purba Medinipur district.
According to family members, he mostly stays in Kolkata for work and visits home occasionally during weekends.
Besides his parents, his younger brother, sister-in-law and several relatives have also travelled to Kolkata following the incident.
Demanding strict action against the perpetrators, the uncle said, "We want the government to conduct a proper investigation and identify those directly involved in the crime. They should be given exemplary punishment so that such incidents do not happen again in West Bengal and no other family has to go through this grief."
A neighbour, Ranjana Ghorai, also sought stringent punishment for those behind the attack.
"In our neighbourhood, we call him Sona. We want exemplary punishment for the people responsible for this incident," she said.
Rath's family members have demanded life imprisonment for the accused, while Adhikari has called for capital punishment for those involved in the killing.
