When agencies swoop down on funds
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New Delhi: Tax sleuths carrying out election-time raids kick up controversy.
Raids targeting opposition parties have become routine across states after election code of conduct came into force.
However, probe agencies including IT sleuths and enforcement department do not swoop down on any leader of the ruling party at the centre.
Funds are essential for campaigns. Nowhere is it better expressed than in the controversial footage of MK Raghavan in Kozhikode.
Without channeling funds campaign could do belly up, no matter be it is of ruling or opposition party.
Sleuths honing in on only the leaders of the opposition appear as if only opposition parties had their fingers in the pie, possessing unaccountable wealth, and ruling party leaders are immaculately clean. Because, there hasn’t been a single raid on them.
IT sleuths and enforcement department conducted 55 raids as of now; it is said that raids on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath exposed unaccounted wealth worth Rs 281 crore.
Sleuths swooped on SM Moideen, the accountant of Congress. Officials remained pig-headed even as Ahamad Patel came in seeking details of the raids.
Leaders of parties including Congress, JDS, DMK, BSP, Samajvadi party have faced raids of late. Other parties including Trinamul Congress, RJD and National Congress have faced it since NDA came in power.
However, leaders of BJP, Shiv Sena, Akalidal, and LJD— all part of NDA—got off the radar.
Probing agencies turned a blind eye to videos exposing fraud related to demonetization.
Even Election Commission is aware of the biased approach in the raids. Often raids are conducted without informing state election officials. It was in this context, the Election Commission in sterner language asked the government to be impartial.
The EC has summoned officials attached to revenue and IT department and they submitted that they were acting independently, while requesting EC to cooperate with them to stop fraudulent behaviour during election.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh denied any political settling of scores.
