Bhopal: Predawn swoops by the Income Tax (I-T) Department on Praveen Kakkar and R K Miglani, considered close to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Ashwin Sharma, an associate of Kakkar, have raised political temperature in the state.
The simultaneous raids in Bhopal, Indore, Delhi and other places in around 50 locations, just days ahead of the first phase of Lok Sabha elections and soon after the controversial CBI action against police officers in West Bengal, triggered a debate with many questioning the timing. To some, the action is a ploy to create fear among BJP's political rivals in the poll season.
Ashwin Sharma, who runs an NGO, is an associate of Kamal Nath’s aide Kakkar.
Kakkar, a former police officer, was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Kamal Nath after the Congress government was voted to power in assembly elections in late 2018. Kakkar and Miglani had quit their posts days before the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha poll schedule early last month and the model code of conduct kicked in instantly. Kakkar had also worked as the OSD to former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria when the Congress-led UPA government was at the centre.
The raids and searches carried out by the I-T Department, which has been flagged by even the Election Commission, is emerging as a poll issue in Madhya Pradesh too.
The Congress and the BJP went on offensive about the raids. The former sees political vendetta while the BJP, which is the opposition party in MP, is defending the exercise.
Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said blaming the BJP for the action was a result of narrow thinking. Chief Minister Kamal Nath said people of the state will give a befitting reply for this in the Lok Sabha elections.
Without naming the BJP, the CM said the entire country knows how “these people” are using constitutional bodies against opponents.
Reacting to the I-T searches, former chief minister and Congress candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency Digvijaya Singh said if the IT department had the guts it should raid Amit Shah.
“First they troubled Chandrababu Naidu, then Kumaraswamy and now the Madhya Pradesh government is being troubled,” he said.
“Nobody is above the law. Income Tax Act is enacted by a special law. When it comes to tax evasion, the authorities of the I-T Department are well within their rights and competent to take action at any time against those who violate the I-T provisions,” an I-T official said.
“The action is reprehensible. If constitutional institutions are neutral, they should raid Pema Khandu (Arunachal CM, from whose convoy cash was seized). The BJP should also explain the source of roughly Rs 2,000 crore, which was spent on making party offices in the country,” said Bhupendra Gupta, a former OSD to Kamal Nath.
Gupta said nationwide IT searches show desperation of BJP. It is a manifestation of the misuse of constitutional bodies.