Trinamool Congress calls I-T raids on Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar's properties 'vendetta politics'

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday termed the Income Tax Department’s searches at locations and properties linked to Karnataka energy minister DK Shivakumar “vendetta politics” by the BJP to undermine the opposition parties. [caption id=“attachment_2053969” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] “This is nothing new. We have seen such things before also. Whenever the BJP faces any sort of opposition, they will use the CBI, ED, Income Tax against opposition parties. This is the BJP’s true colour,” TMC’s secretary general and West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters. “They (BJP) don’t believe in democracy but in vendetta politics. This is an effort by the BJP to establish ‘Modi raj’ in the country, which is turning into ‘goonda raj’,” he said. The Income Tax Department conducted searches at 64 locations and properties linked to Shivakumar, who was overseeing the stay of 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat at a resort near Bengaluru, in connection with a case of alleged tax evasion. I-T officials said about Rs 10 crore cash has been recovered during the raids at various properties linked to the minister, who was taken to his house in Bengaluru from the resort by the taxman early today. Chatterjee said, “Why did the I-T department conduct the raid now? If he has done anything wrong then what was it doing for all these days? As soon as he arranged for the stay of the Gujarat MLAs raids were conducted by the I-T. From this only it is proved how the CBI, ED and I-T are being used politically.”