Bhubaneswar: As ongoing raids by Income Tax and GST officials in Odisha triggered a war of words bertween the ruling BJD and opposition BJP, political atmosphere gathered heat ahead of Jharsuguda Assembly bypoll in the state.
With raid politics warming up, leaders of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) traded charges and came face to face.
While BJD leaders accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of unleashing I-T raids in a political stunt before Jharsuguda bypoll as well as 2024 elections, saffron party asked the ruling party to refrain from politicising the operation which is a routine affair. They also accused the BJD government of using its GST wing against political rivals.
The BJD-BJP spar intensified after a series of raids carried out by I-T officials over the last few days in several districts including Nayagarh, Balaosre, Ganjam, Kandhamal and Jajpur.
Similarly, officials of the state government’s CT & GST departrmenht conducted raids on the premises of a business establishment in Angul since Tuesday.
These operations came close on the heels of raids by GST Intelligence of Ministry of Finance on Vanik Tutorials owned by Subrat Chatoi, who is considered to be close to senior BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das.
Coming down heavily on BJP over the I-T raids, senior BJD leader and MP Manas Mangaraj alleged that the Centre has engaged its officials ahead of the by-election in Jharsuguda.
Claiming that such raids are always carried out by the central agency during election season, he said such actions are not good for a democracy.
Reacting sharply to BJD’s remarks, state BJP president Manmohan Samal said there is nothing to be afraid of the raids if someone is honest and clean. “There is nothing to fear about if one is honestly paying income tax. It seems BJD is now fearing its own shadow,” Samal added.
Describing the raids as a routine affair, the senior BJP leader said raids are carried out by the central agency throughout the year, on 365 days, as part of a regular exercise.
Stating that BJP is in no way connected with the Income Tax, Samal said, “If a BJP leader does not pay taxes, will the I-T department let him go? They are scared because they are sitting on mountains of cash.”
The BJD-BJP face-off surfaced after I-T raids on the premises of two BJD leaders Benudhar Pradhan, vice chairperson of Bhapur block in Nayagarh, and Bhramarabara Nayak, vice chairperson of Balasore’s Soro block. While Pradhan’s construction company, residence and a crusher unit were raided, Nayak’s kalyan mandap, hotel and a petrol pump were raided by IT officials.
Similar raids were conducted on the house, office and a crusher unit of businessman Krupasindhu Muduli of Ganjam. I-T officials also raided a contract firm at Daringibadi, and property of a crusher owner in Sambalpur.
Since Tuesday, I-T raids are being carried out at several places, including some stone crusher units and a petrol pump, in Jajpur district, sources said, adding that these locations being raided have links with the ruling BJD leaders.
Terming the raids as a political stunt ahead of elections, ruling BJD leader Parshuram Dhada said the whole exercise shows that the BJP-led central government is deliberately targeting political rivals in the run up to the 2024 elections.
Both Mangaraj and Dhada claimed that similar raids were resorted to by BJP in the past also. I-T Raids were conducted ahead of Padampur Assembly bypoll to target us, the BJD leaders said.
