Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blames Modi’s vendetta politics for raids on Yogendra’s kin, while West Bengal chief minister slammed the centre for using its agencies to outmuscle opposition forces ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
NEW DELHI/ KOLKATA (IANS) — Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday came out in support of Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav after raids on his former colleagues’s family members and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi must end his vendetta politics.
“We strongly condemn victimisation of Yogendra Yadav’s family by the Modi government through the use of agencies like IT (Income Tax Department). Modi government should stop such vendetta politics,” Kejriwal tweeted.
On Wednesday, Yadav in a series of tweets, said that a hospital run by his sisters in Haryana’s Rewari was raided by Income Tax officials.
“The Modi regime now targets my family. Two days after my nine-day padyatra in Rewari and launching of agitation for MSP (minimum support price) and against liquor thekas, a massive IT raid is on at the hospital cum nursing home of my sisters in Rewari.
“Please search me, my home, why target my family?”
In another tweet, he said that more than 100 officials from Delhi raided the hospital at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and “detained” all the doctors, including his sisters, brother-in-law and nephew, in their chambers.
“Hospital sealed, including ICU for new-born babies. A clear attempt to intimidate. Modiji you can’t silence me,” Yadav said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also slammed the Income Tax raids at a hospital owned by Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav’s sisters, saying the Centre was using its agencies to outmuscle opposition forces ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
“2019 elections are coming. #BJP using the agencies to silence Opposition voices and openly doing political vendetta. Strongly condemn the IT raid on @_YogendraYadav Ji’s family,” Banerjee tweeted.
Rs 22 lakh cash recovered during raids
PTI reports: The Income Tax Department has recovered about Rs 22 lakh cash during raids on multiple premises of a hospital group in Haryana’s Rewari, related to Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav, after it was detected that they allegedly made cash payments to a Nirav Modi firm for purchasing jewellery, officials said.
They said the tax department searched the Kalawati hospital and Kamla Nursing Home and the residences of its main partner Dr Gautam Yadav and others.
It is understood that Gautam Yadav is the nephew of Yogendra Yadav and son of his sister Dr Neelam Yadav.
Officials said the tax department carried out the action acting on inputs received from a dossier of information from the Nirav Modi group, absconding from probe in the USD 2 billion PNB fraud case, and it was found that Gautam Yadav paid Rs 3.25 lakh cash, out of the total Rs 6.50 lakh, in cash for purchase of jewellery from the diamantaire’s firm.
They added that the searches also covered Dr Narender Singh Yadav and Rs 22 lakh cash was recovered from the residence of the Yadavs.
When asked about the ITD allegations, Yogendra Yadav told PTI “the question is whether this money is unaccounted for? I do not know about the accounts of the hospitals.”
