‘Every penny will be returned’: PM Modi attacks Congress over Jharkhand raids

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday posted another emoji-packed post on X, formerly known as Twitter, slamming the Congress after the Income Tax (IT) department recovered crores of rupees from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to the party’s Jharkhand MP Dheeraj Prasad Sahu. Modi asserted that they (BJP) will return “every penny looted” from people.

“The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest ‘speeches’ of their leaders. Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi’s guarantee,” PM Modi wrote with several laughing and cash emojis. He was responding to a report by a media outlet over the raids in Odisha and Jharkhand.

The IT department on Thursday seized over ₹300 crore during multiple raids in Odisha and Jharkhand on properties linked to various alcohol manufacturing firms. The searches were carried out since Wednesday at over half a dozen firms, including S Shiv Ganga and Company, Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd (BDPL), and Ranisati Paddy Processing Private Limited over alleged tax evasion. Officials said that around ₹150 crore alone was seized from the raids conducted at the premises of BDPL situated in Boudh, Raidih, Sambalpur, and Balangir districts of Odisha as well as in Ranchi and Lohardaga in Jharkhand. Notably, BDPL is one of the biggest country-liquor manufacturers and selling companies in western Odisha.

According to officials, Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu’s house was also raided as he is believed to have close links with the company owners.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Sundargarh Kusum Tete alleged that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Jogesh Sinha was also linked to the companies that were raided. However, Singh dismissed the allegations saying he has only a “familial relationship with the owners of the distillery”.

PM Modi turns up heat on Opposition

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi has turned up the heat on opposition parties in his recent emoji-packed posts on X. Earlier this week, Modi cited a news clip to take a swipe at the opposition saying they may “remain happy with their arrogance, lies, pessimism, and ignorance but people should be beware of their divisive agenda”. He was reacting to a news clip post captioned ‘Meltdown-e-Azam’ that cited alleged attempts by an ecosystem to stoke regional divide and insult voters in Hindi heartland states after the BJP swept to power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.