Tax Raids In Odisha: BJP Seeks CBI Probe Into BJD-Liquor Traders Nexus; Also Check PM Modi’s Post

Bhubaneswar: Continuing its tirade against BJD over the ongoing Income Tax raids in Odisha, the BJD on Friday demanded a CBI investigation into the matter while alleging nexus between several leaders of the ruling party with the accused liquor traders.

“How could a distillery group stock Rs 500 crore when its yearly turnover is only Rs 120 crore? Was the crores of rupees kept with the company by BJD for election-related expenses? We have information that the Sahu brothers have links with ministers and leaders of the BJD from Boudh, Sonepur, Titlagarh, Rayagada and Bargarh,” BJP spokesperson Manoj Mahapatra told a presser.

While mentioning about news reports about alleged nexus between the liquor traders and the BJD, he also showed pictures of Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu and other ministers and former MLAs sharing dais with the accused.

He further alleged non-Odia businessmen are looting the state.

Refuting these allegations, BJD MLA Satyanarayan Pradhan said that no leader from the party is involved in this matter. “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will never allow such kind of behaviour. As far as the allegations are concerned, it is the duty of the Opposition to oppose us. So let them do their duty,” he said.

This came a day after BJP MLA from Sundargarh, Kusum Tete, alleged that BJDl leader Jogesh Singh had links with the companies that were being raided. “When the liquor manufacturing unit was set up in Sundargarh, we were informed that the unit is in the name of Singh’s mother. He had connections with that unit and regularly received money from there,” she alleged.

Singh, however, said that he had only familial relationship with the owners of the distillery.

Notably, tax raids on several locations linked to Jharkhand Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Dheeraj Sahu’s premises in Odisha has led to the recovery of cash worth over Rs 200 crore so far. Around Rs 150 crore alone was seized during searches conducted on the premises of Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd (BDPL) situated in Boudh, Raidih, Sambalpur, and Balangir districts of Odisha as well as in Ranchi and Lohardaga in Jharkhand.

According to sources, the total recovery could be around Rs 250 crore and three dozen counting machines have been deployed by the tax department for counting the notes.

Huge quantities of torn currency notes, all in Rs 500 denomination, were found dumped near the boundary wall of BDPL at Titirikata under Harabhanga block in Boudh district on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also fired salvo at the Congress over the recovery of Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Sahu. “Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said in a post with several emojis.