I-T sleuths raided a private hotel in Srirangapattana which is often visited by Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Reacting to the raids, the CM said it is nothing but vendetta politics.
Mandya: Sleuths of the Income Tax (I-T) department continue to give nightmares to Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his aides. In the latest news coming in, I-T sleuths raided a private hotel in Srirangapattana.
This is a very important hotel for the chief minister as it is in this place that he holds meetings with his party members and others whenever he visits the place. His son Nikhil Kumaraswamy too stays in the hotel often. In fact, Nikhil had stayed here on Wednesday, where he had met his aides to discuss election issues. This afternoon, around 30 sleuths of the I-T department swooped in on the hotel and held checks, including the room where he had stayed.
However, there is no information on what have been seized until now. On Thursday, the I-T department sleuths had raided the residence of Atmananda, a Congress senior leader from the Mandya district. The officials had seized Rs 10 lakh unaccounted cash.
Criticising the raids and the I-T sleuths, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is in Karwar, said that the I-T raids are nothing but an act of vendetta politics.
“I am presently in Karwar. The sleuths of the I-T department themselves are dacoits. They have been caught red-handed accepting money. Not just that, even my car has been checked fifteen to twenty times. When I speak to the sleuths of the I-T department, they say that they are just following the instructions given by their higher-ups. Further, they add that if they don’t do their job, their higher-ups will suspect them of conniving with me,” the chief minister said.
But BJP was quick to hit back.
“There is no exemption for him. For that matter, even Prime Minister Modi doesn’t enjoy any immunity from such raids. HD Kumaraswamy is a star campaigner. So he is liable to be checked. He is only resorting to drama to sensationalise it in obvious endeavour to get more votes. Moreover, he is exaggerating so as to earn sympathy from the voters. All his claims are mere bunkum,” said Shreenath Sheshadri, a BJP spokesperson.
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