New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday hit back at Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over his remarks on a tax evasion case involving perfume maker Piyush Jain, as well as fresh raids.
Addressing a press conference, Nirmala Sitharaman said cash worth around Rs 200 crore recovered from the perfume dealer is not BJP’s money.
He also defended the timing of the tax raids, saying they were based on actionable intelligence.
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At the press conference after the GST Council meeting, he was asked about the opposition’s allegation which claimed that Rs 197.49 crore recovered from Piyush Jain in UP’s Kannauj was his party’s money and that the tax authorities had charged the person ” mistake” and are now raiding the other Jains they originally intended to target.
“It is not BJP’s money,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Furthermore, he said that Akhilesh Yadav “should not raise doubts about the professionalism of the organisation”.
“The height of (seized) cash is proof that law enforcement agencies are acting honestly..” He said, adding that law enforcement agencies work on actionable intelligence in conducting raids. .
#Watch , He (SP chief) should not doubt the professionalism of the organisation. The height of (seized) cash is proof that law enforcement agencies are acting honestly… Should we wait for ‘muhurta’ after elections or catch the thief today itself?: Finance Minister Nirmala sitharaman pic.twitter.com/r3CyIcmw66
— ANI (@ANI) 31 December 2021
Nirmala Sitharaman commented that Akhilesh Yadav was “shaken” by the raid.
“How do you know whose money it is? Are you his partner? Because only the partner knows whose money is kept,” he insisted.
Rejecting allegations that the agency’s raids were politically motivated, the senior BJP leader asked whether the raiding parties had come up empty handed.
“Should we wait for ‘muhurta’ after elections or catch the thief today itself?”: Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Akhilesh Yadav’s allegations on tax raid
Earlier this morning, a team of Income Tax Department raided the premises of Samajwadi Party MLC Pushpraj Jain (Pammi Jain) and another businessman in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh.
Reacting to the development, SP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav alleged: “BJP talked about demonetisation and GST, but despite this, got so much money. They went to raid and found Pushpraj Jain but raided his own Piyush Jain. Now these people are raiding Pushpraj Jain to rectify their mistake.
BJP is trying to defame the name of SP. Those who spread the smell of hatred will not like the fragrance of perfume. First they raided their own man’s house by mistake and now to hide that they are raiding the residences of SP leaders,” he said while addressing a press conference in Kannauj, as reported by ANI .
The SP leader claimed that whenever the BJP feels that it is losing the elections, the agencies start raids.
He has appealed to the Election Commission that if the model code of conduct comes after the elections, then these raids should be conducted.
The political rescue comes as Uttar Pradesh is among five states to go to polls early next year and the ruling and opposition parties are now attacking each other over the recent tax raids.
(with inputs from agencies)
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