J P Nadda Warns Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi Over Odisha Cash Haul; Oppn Takes Dig At BJP
New Delhi: BJP chief J P Nadda on Sunday joined his party colleagues in targeting Rahul Gandhi over the tax raids on Congress’ Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Sahu, leading to recovery of ‘highest-ever’ unaccounted cash which is likely to amount to Rs 300 crore figure.
In a post on X, directed at the Congress MP, his party, and Rahul Gandhi, Nadda wrote: “Friend, both you and your leader Rahul Gandhi will have to answer. This is new India. Here people will not be allowed to be exploited in the name of the royal family. You will be tired of running, but the law will not leave you.”
Asserting strong action in the case, the BJP chief said that if Congress is guarantee of corruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a guarantee for action. “If Congress is the guarantee of corruption, then Modi ji is the guarantee of action against corruption. Every penny looted from the public will have to be returned,” he added.
Notably, the BJP has launched an all-out attack on the Congress over the recovery.
Earlier, PM Modi had hit out at the grand old party over the seizure. “Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi’s guarantee,” he wrote on X.
Taking potshots at the Congress leadership and the Gandhi family, BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya shared a picture of Sahu with Rahul Gandhi during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. Union Minister Smriti Irani also asked the Gandhi family to reveal the name of the leader for whom the Rajya Sabha MP was working as an “ATM”.
The BJP’s Odisha unit, on the other hand, has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and sought clarification from the ruling BJD over its woman minister sharing stage with one of the liquor traders covered in the raids.
PRIVATE MATTER, SAYS CONGRESS
This came a day after the Congress distanced itself from Sahu, saying that a clarification has been sought from the latter about the cash recovered and its source. Jharkhand Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey said that is it a private matter and the party has nothing to do with it. “Since he is Congress MP, he should make an official statement about how such a big amount of money came to him. The party has a clear-cut stand that it is a private matter of Dheeraj Sahu, which has nothing to do with the Congress party,” he said.
On X, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said: “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.”
OPPN DIG AT BJP
Meanwhile, Opposition Shiv Sena’s MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has sought assurance from BJP leaders and ministers that Sahu will not get a clean chit if he decides to join the saffron party after some time. “We have seen a scam of Rs 70,000 crore in Maharashtra and as soon as they joined the BJP everyone forgot it,” she told news agency ANI.
COUNTING OF CASH CONTINUES
While around 30 places linked to Boudh Distilleries Pvt Ltd and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu have been searched since December 6, the highest amount of cash in 156 bags was seized from one of its manufacturing units at Sudapada in Balangir. Twenty more more bags filled with cash were seized from the house of Balangir Sudapada country-liquor manufacturer’s manager on Friday night.
Around Rs 140 crore was found in 102 bags, counting for which was completed by Saturday night. Cash in 20 more bags will be counted by tonight and the rest by Monday. Around 60 staffers and several machines have been engaged at the SBI branch at Balangir for the purpose, official sources said.
The raids have been carried out in properties linked to the influential family at Ranchi, Sambalpur, Balangir, Titilagarh, Boudh, and Sudargarh in Jharkhand, and Rourkela and Bhubaneswar in Odisha. Besides the bags full of cash, nine almirahs filled with notes of Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500 and three bags of jewelleries have also been seized.
The counting of cash at Titlagarh and Sambalpur, which ended last night, has put the seizure amount at Rs 11 crore and Rs 37.50 crore respectively.
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