Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said Tuesday he will not be cowed down by raids carried out by Income Tax authorities against party leaders and workers and alleged the searches were aimed at stopping Opposition leaders from contesting the Lok Sabha election.
"We do not fear anyone. Congress party has always maintained transparency," he stressed, alleging that the raids were a "well-thought out conspiracy" to taint the Congress.
"I do not fear anyone and I have not committed any theft. Attack is the best defence and those who have committed theft themselves are attacking others," he claimed.
Patel found himself in the midst of controversy after he visited the house of his Chattered Accountant and AICC worker SM Muin, when the latter was being raided by Income Tax officials on Monday, 8 April. A photo of Patel, sitting with Muin emerged later in the day.
According to I-T officials, Muin had received Rs 20 crore in cash on Saturday, 6 April, through hawala, and allegedly transferred the amount to Congress’ office.
Confirming the authenticity of the photo, Patel told The Quint that he visited Muin’s residence because the CA was unwell. However, Patel claimed that he was not aware of the I-T raids that were underway.
The Income-Tax Department on Monday, 8 April, said it has detected a “widespread and well-organised” racket of collection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crore during raids against close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and others, according to PTI.
It said the sleuths have recovered Rs 14.6 crore of “unaccounted” cash and seized diaries and computer files of suspect payments made between Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, reported PTI.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the department has also detected a trail of Rs 20 crore suspect cash allegedly being moved to the "headquarters of a major political party in Delhi" from the house of an important person who lives on Tughlaq Road, home to many VIPs.
It added that the searches in Delhi in the group of a close relative of the senior functionary have further led to the seizure of “incriminating evidence, including cash book recording unaccounted transactions of Rs 230 crore, siphoning off money through bogus billing of more than Rs 242 crore and evidence of more than 80 companies in tax havens.”
The CBDT said several unaccounted/benami properties at posh locations in Delhi have also been detected. It said these "instances of violations of the model code of conduct are being brought to the notice of the Election Commission".
(With inputs from PTI)
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