I-T raids could be result of Lakhimpur Kheri criticism: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said that the Income Tax Department's raids on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's relatives and aides came after his comparison of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during British rule. Pawar stepped up his attacks against the BJP led government saying, "The I-T raids were carried out because I likened the Lakhimpur Kheri violence to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Don't we have the right to air our views in democracy?" he asked.
The premises linked to business groups such as DB Realty, Shivalik, Jarandeshwar Sahakari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) and businesses linked to Ajit Pawar's sisters are being covered under the ongoing operation, official sources have said.
"The I-T Department has the right to exercise its power to inquire people who are related and responsible for the firms and their financial transactions. But the inquiry of persons who are not related to the financial transactions is excessive use of power and people should decide till when they are going to accept such blatant use of power," he said.
Pawar at the party meeting in Solapur alleged that the Centre was leaving no stone unturned to trouble the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress
The I-T Dept has the right to exercise its power to inquire people who are responsible for the firms and their financial transactions. But the inquiry of persons who are not related to the financial transactions is excessive use of power
in Maharashtra. "The state government is not being given its rightful share in the central funds," he added.
Pawar accused the BJP of being "anti-farmer" and indulging in "misuse of power". He appealed to the people to peacefully participate in a state-wide bandh called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi partners on October 11 to protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. "Nothing should be open except the essential services," he said.
Pawar also strongly criticised the Centre’s national monetization pipeline claiming that it would weaken the public sector.