Days after the BJP and Samajwadi Party traded allegations and counter-allegations over which party held the allegiance of Kanpur businessman Piyush Jain, from whose house nearly Rs 200 crore was seized by tax authorities, the Income Tax Department raided the properties of someone who definitely belonged to the Samajwadi Party, Pushpraj Jain.
Around 50 properties in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh, owned by the businessperson who owns perfumery, petrol pumps, and cold storage operations, were raided by the I-T Department, as per NDTV.
Speculation had mounted over whether the first set of raids by the Directorate of GST Intelligence had been conducted on the correct target, after BJP leaders claimed that Piyush Jain had launched the official perfume of Akhilesh Yadav's SP.
The perfume, 'Samajwadi Attar', had actually been released by Pushpraj Jain, an SP leader from Kannauj, in advance of the 2022 elections.
But who is Pushpraj Jain and why are the I-T authorities investigating him?
BEGINNINGS IN KANNAUJ PERFUME TRADE
Sixty-year-old Pushpraj, also known as Pampi, comes from a longstanding family business started by his father, which has been manufacturing perfumes in Kannauj since 1950. The city in Uttar Pradesh has been known for its perfumes for centuries, and has a registered Geographical Indication (GI) for them.
After reportedly turning around the family business, (original company Pragati Aroma Oil Distillers Pvt Ltd, but now comprising other firms as well), Pushpraj expanded it across the country, including ones in the Sachin Special Economic Zone in Surat. He runs the business along with his three brothers.
The non-alcoholic perfumes manufactured by them are exported to foreign countries including Switzerland, France, the UAE, Turkey, and Germany, according to the Indian Express.
Pushpraj expanded his and the family's business interests beyond perfumes to include petrol pumps and cold storage operations, as well as real estate.
TIES TO SAMAJWADI PARTY
Pushpraj has reportedly had strong ties with the Samajwadi Party, which has had a strong presence in Kannauj, for many years. SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has ties to the region, and Akhilesh Yadav had been the MP from Kannauj before becoming the UP chief minister.
However, Pushpraj was not actively part of politics till 2016, when he became a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) from Itawa-Farrukhabad on a Samajwadi Party ticket. His term is set to end in March 2022.
The 'Samajwadi Attar' was recently launched by Akhilesh Yadav at the Samajwadi Party's offices. The 'socialist' perfume, which combines 22 different fragrances, is supposed to be a symbol of inclusiveness to eliminate the fragrance of hate and promote brotherhood in UP.
THE TAX RAIDS
The I-T Department raids began on Friday, 31 December, and went on till the morning of 1 January. The targets included properties across the country, apart from those in Kannauj and Kanpur.
Unlike the Piyush Jain raids, where photos of the vast amounts of cash and gold recovered became public and authorities released statements about how the raids came about, there have so far been no details released about the I-T Department findings, or the reasons for the raid.
After the raids at the firms in the Surat SEZ, I-T Department sources told The Indian Express that they had seized "several incriminating documents" relating to imports and exports, but that these were yet to be verified.
There are no existing criminal cases against Pushpraj Jain, who is locally perceived as having a clean image and being a philanthropist, according to DNA.
The Samajwadi Party has slammed the raids, saying they are a misuse of central agencies.
"After the huge failure last time, this time, the BJP's ultimate ally I-T has finally raided the place of SP MLC Shri Pushpraj Jain and other perfume traders of Kannauj. Open misuse of central agencies by scared BJP is common in the UP elections. People are watching everything, they will answer by vote," the party said in a tweet.
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