Monday, 11 December 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Responding to Bharatiya Janata Party State president Mahendra Bhatt’s comments on cash being found at the home of a Congress MP, the Uttarakhand Congress chief spokesperson Garima Dasauni has stated that it is a personal matter of the Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. It is the subject of an inquiry and any action can be taken only after the investigation report comes out.
Targetting the BJP, she said that if Sahu were to join the BJP in the future, he too will be given a clean chit as in the case of some other leaders in the past. Dasauni said, “The BJP leaders should assure the nation that Sahu will not be given a clean chit even if he joins the BJP after some time. We have seen a Rs 70,000 crore scam in Maharashtra and as soon as those allegedly involved in the scam joined the BJP everybody seemingly forgot it. There are many MPs and MLAs like Himanta Biswa Sarma who had indulged in corruption and then shifted loyalties to join the BJP after which all action being taken against them ended. The same should not happen in the case of Dhiraj Sahu,” she said.
The Uttarakhand Congress chief spokesperson further said that in the recent past, about Rs six crore cash was found in the home of a bureaucrat son of a BJP MLA in Karnataka who was caught taking a bribe. “The anti-corruption wing of the Lokayukta had recovered a large sum of cash from BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa’s son Prashanth Madal’s home during a raid. Virupakshappa was the chairman of the State-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited while his son is the chief accountant in the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Apart from this, a man named Piyush Jain was raided in Uttar Pradesh and more than Rs 200 crore cash was recovered. Initially he was stated to be connected to the Samajwadi Party but later it was revealed that he was connected to the BJP. He has been jailed for tax evasion after recovery of about Rs 257 crore including gold and silver from his premises during a raid by Income Tax officials. This perfume trader who was earlier being linked to opposition leaders is now reportedly being saved by government officials. A sum of Rs 177.45 crore cash was recovered from his Anandpuri residence.
The Director General of GST Intelligence has accepted now that this sum is Jain’s turnover. This has been confirmed by documents submitted by the DGGI in court. Due to this, Jain can simply pay the penalty amount and secure bail. Basically, the government officials weakened the case which will directly benefit Jain. Why was the case weakened and on whose instructions? Is he being protected by those in power? Many are raising these questions but getting no answer,” she said while questioning if the BJP State president can answer these questions.
