Referring to the recent demand notice for ₹1,800 crore issued by the Income Tax (IT) Department to the Congress, Priyank Kharge, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Information Technology & Biotechnology, said that the BJP had turned Central agencies such as IT Department, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as its frontal wings to suppress and weaken the Opposition.
“Issuing demand notice for ₹1,823.08 crore without any assessment is meaningless. Why didn’t the IT Department issue a notice to BJP which has also received a large amount of funds in the form of donations? Why hadn’t it issued notices to BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa when a ‘diary’ was found at his residence? Why hadn’t it issued notice to K.S. Eshwarappa when a currency-counting machine was found at his residence? By misusing its power at the Centre, the BJP has turned the IT Department, ED and CBI as their frontal wings to selectively target the Opposition and weaken them,” he said at a media conference in the District Congress Committee (DCC) office here on Saturday.
Mr. Priyank also pointed out the concerns expressed by the United Nations, Germany and the United States over the misuse of power by the Centre in the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by ED.
