Why Centre targets only Congress, not BJP: Siddaramaiah on Sahu I-T raids

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday accused the Centre of targeting only the Congress and not the BJP, in the wake of seizure of unaccounted cash amounting to over Rs 200 crore from premises allegedly linked to Jharkhand Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. He was reacting to the recent Income Tax raids on the entities linked to Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu in Jharkhand and Odisha. "They (BJP led central government) are only targeting Congress. Let them raid BJP leaders as well. Only then will it be known how much (ill-gotten wealth) they have," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

The CM said whoever amasses black money is wrong, according to the Income Tax Act. Let the I-T department take action as per law.

However, Siddaramaiah's grouse was that the central agencies were selectively targeting the Congress.

"Why their action is aimed at only Congress leaders and not BJP? Huge money will be found if BJP people are raided,' the Chief Minister said.

A huge pile of cash has been recovered so far in the searches conducted by the Income Tax department against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited and entities linked to it.

Premises linked to Sahu were also covered as part of the searches, according to officials.

The seizure amount is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, they added.