"Nothing To Do With Congress": Jharkhand Minister On Massive Cash Haul

Amid the BJP's barbs over the recovery of stacks of currency notes during the Income Tax raids at premises linked to Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu, Congress leader and Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta on Sunday said his party had nothing to do with it.

Speaking to ANI on Sunday, the minister said the onus was on the central agency to clarify where the money came from.

Mr Gupta added that Mr Sahu, a Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, belongs to a big business family and the Income Tax authorities should conduct a proper investigation to ascertain facts about the source of the money recovered.

"Dheeraj Sahu belongs to a big family, which has business interests. They have been running their businesses for several years. I believe it is the Income Tax department that should come out with a detailed clarification on the source of the money," Mr Gupta told ANI.

"It's not that he had stashed bribe money. An investigation is underway after which everything will be crystal clear. However, is his (Sahu's) personal business and has nothing to do with the party," the state Health minister added.

Meanwhile, Income Tax sleuths conducted raids at the premises of Boudh Distilleries Private Limited on Sunday, as the crackdown by the central agency entered its fifth day.

Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd company is a group company of Boudh Distilleries, which is being raised. It is allegedly linked to Sahu.

Income Tax sleuths have, so far, recovered more than Rs 200 crore cash from several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand during their raids against Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and entities linked to it.

Earlier, currency counting machines were brought in as the Income Tax Department raided the premises of Boudh Distilleries Private Limited.

The residences of Mr Sahu were also searched. The recovery has given fresh ammunition to the BJP to come out all guns blazing at the Congress on the issue of graft.

Union Minister Smriti Irani has questioned the grand old party over the recovery of piles of cash from the ongoing raids on premises linked to the Congress MP, saying that the Gandhi family must tell the country which leader the latter was working as an 'ATM' for.

Earlier, on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the Congress, tagging a news report about the I-T department's recovery of Rs 200 crores in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Mr Sahu.

"Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," PM Modi posted from his official handle.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)