Income tax raids common since 2014: CM Hemant Soren questions Centre

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday questioned the timing of the Income Tax (I-T) department's raids on his associate, suggesting such actions had become increasingly common since 2014.

During a press conference, Soren raised concerns about the functioning of investigative agencies in the country, particularly in the run-up to the state elections.

"Have you ever seen such action in the middle of elections?" Soren asked, referring to the raids conducted by the Income Tax Department at the residence of Sunil Srivastava, allegedly a close aide and personal secretary of the Jharkhand CM, earlier today.

He went on to say that he had spoken several times about the state of constitutional agencies and how they were functioning in the country.

"Income tax conducted raids on the premises of my associates. I don't need to say much about this because I have spoken many times about the condition of constitutional agencies. The whole country is watching on which parameters they are working and against whom they are working," Soren said.

The Chief Minister also reflected on the change in the political landscape since 2014, pointing out that before that year, such actions by agencies were rare.

"There are many discussions on it. Have you ever seen such action in the middle of elections? ... Before 2014, such things used to happen very rarely in the country," he said.

Earlier reacting to the Income Tax raids, Soren said that a cadre of the BJP has emerged in the area; however, he also said that there is no problem with it and they will handle the situation.

"Raids have started; a new cadre of BJP has emerged in the area. No problem, we will see it," said CM Soren.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat questioned the timings of the raid as the polling date for the state assembly nears and said that the Election Commission should stop such things.

She further alleged that the BJP has become "helpless," which is why they are bringing ED and CBI.

"BJP has become so helpless here in Jharkhand because they can see people are not responding to their hate politics. This is why they have brought in ED and CBI. The Election Commission should also stop this. How can they get an IT raid conducted at the last moment right before the elections? Why? If there was something, they could have gone to the court or asked about a case. This is wrong and we condemn this. It shows that the BJP is using its actual alliance (ED, CBI and Income Tax) when people are not coming to the rallies of big BJP leaders," she said.

Earlier in the day, the I-T department raided the residence of Sunil Srivastava, an alleged close aide and personal secretary to CM Soren, in Ranchi.

The 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.

CM Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), in alliance with Congress, RJD and left parties, is facing major competition from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance in the state.