The Income Tax department is conducting raids at the residence of Sunil Srivastava, a close aide and personal secretary to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, sources said on Saturday.
This raid comes just days before the assembly elections in Jharkhand, where the CM-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is preparing for a tough contest against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance. JMM is in an alliance with Congress, RJD, and left-wing parties.
Earlier in June, the Jharkhand High Court had granted bail to Chief Minister Soren in connection with an alleged land scam case. In January, Soren had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of land fraud and money laundering.
Congress Responds to Raids on Hemant Soren's Aide
In response to the Income Tax Department raids on Srivastava, a close aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Congress, a partner of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the INDIA alliance, accused the central agencies of being tools for the BJP’s political maneuvering in the state. "This is nothing new for Jharkhand. IT raids are constantly being used against opposition leaders and their personal staff. The BJP is trying to re-establish its presence through these raids by the IT and ED. The people of Jharkhand have already rejected them, and these actions are nothing more than attempts to pressure opposition leaders," said Congress leader Rakesh Sinha.
The Jharkhand Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.
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