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
The Indian National Congress is…
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Misuse of power, money to control election mechanism seen during Maharashtra polls: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed the misuse of power and money to control the entire election mechanism, which was never before seen in any state assembly or national polls, was witnessed in Maharashtra.
Pawar made the statement when he visited senior activist Dr Baba Adhav, who is protesting against the alleged "misuse of EVMs" in the recent state polls in Maharashtra.
Adhav, who is in his 90s, began his three-day protest at Phule Wada, the residence of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, in the city on Thursday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have been alleging manipulation of EVMs in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory by the Mahayuti.
The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, while the MVA managed just 46 seats.Talking to reporters, Pawar said elections were conducted recently in the country, and there is a restlessness among the people about these.
Baba Adhav's agitation represents this restlessness, he said.
He said, "There is a murmur among the people that the recent polls in Maharashtra saw 'misuse of power' and 'floods of money', which was never seen in the past. Such things are heard of in local-level polls, but taking over the entire election mechanism with the help of money and misuse of power was not seen before. However, we witnessed it in Maharashtra, and people are restless now."
He added that people were recalling late socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and felt somebody should take a step forward.
"I heard Baba Adhav has taken a lead into this issue and is agitating at Phule Wada. His protest gives hope to the people, but it is not enough. A mass revolt is necessary, as the danger of the parliamentary democracy getting destroyed looms," Pawar said.
The former Union minister said those who have reins of the country in their hands are least bothered about this.
"Despite widespread discussion over it (alleged misuse of EVMs) in the country, whenever the opposition tries to raise the issue in the Parliament, they are not allowed to speak. Opposition leaders have been seeking an opportunity to speak on these issues for six days, but their demands have not been accepted even once. It shows they want to attack parliamentary democracy," he claimed.
He said Dr Adhav's protest is a fine example of someone revolting against the issue and expressed confidence that his protest will create a ripple effect.
