BJP slams Congress over Rs 351 crore seized cash, Sanjay Raut questions ED's silence on BJP leaders

Congress MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Sahu, has become the focus of attention, not for political actions, but due to black money allegations. The Income Tax department has seized a staggering Rs 351 crore in cash during raids at Dhiraj Sahu's residence, with the counting of notes still ongoing. The BJP has criticized the Congress, labelling it as corrupt in light of the unaccounted assets found in the possession of the Congress leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also targeted the Congress in a tweet. When questioned about this, MP Sanjay Raut took the opportunity to mention BJP MLAs,

Raut questioned why only Congress leaders were being implicated and why ED and CBI officials were not investigating BJP leaders. He alleged that if an India alliance MP had Rs 200 crore, BJP leaders would possess Rs 1 lakh crore in black money. Raut specifically named BJP MLA Prasad Lad, accusing him of involvement in a scam worth thousands of crores. Raut also claimed a scam of Rs 178 crore involving Shiv Sena leader and minister Dada Bhuse and accused Rahul Kul of being involved in a scam. Raut asserted that consistent complaints had been filed with the ED and urged action against them, emphasizing that the ED and CBI were not established solely to protect the BJP.

Meanwhile, MLA Prasad Lad expressed anger over Sanjay Raut's comments and announced his intention to file a defamation case against him.

#WATCH | On over Rs 200 crore cash recovered in the raid on Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, "...If Rs 200 crore in black money has been found from a member of the INDIA alliance, it implies that BJP leaders may possess black money worth Rs 1 lakh… pic.twitter.com/jSUwAyBXm3

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2023

About IT dept's biggest ever cash seizure

The Income Tax department on December 6, conducted raids across Odisha and Jharkhand, seizing unaccounted cash exceeding Rs 300 crore, reportedly linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Sahu. As per the latest update, the cash seizure has reached ₹353 crore, marking the highest-ever black money haul by any agency in a single operation, according to official sources quoted by PTI. The counting of the confiscated cash took 5 days and ended on Sunday. Approximately three dozen counting machines were deployed by the Income Tax department in response to the substantial amount of cash that was discovered.

Bhagat Behera, a Regional Manager at the State Bank of India, informed the ANI news agency that they had received a total of 176 bags of cash. The counting process involved the participation of 50 officials from three banks. Numerous visuals surfaced on Sunday showing officials counting stacks of cash recovered from the residences associated with Dheeraj Sahu. The majority of the cash was retrieved from locations linked to Boudh Distillery Private Limited in Odisha.

Dheeraj Prasad Sahu, a Congress Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 2010, was reportedly linked to Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd, a company associated with Boudh Distilleries, which was under the I-T Department's radar.

Dheeraj Sahu's family has a longstanding association with the Congress party. His brother, Shiv Prasad Sahu, secured victory in two general elections from the Ranchi seat as a Congress candidate. There are reports indicating the alleged active participation of Dheeraj Sahu's extended family in a significant alcohol manufacturing enterprise, with ownership of multiple factories in Odisha.

In his 2018 Rajya Sabha election affidavit, Dheeraj Sahu declared assets exceeding ₹34 crore. Having entered politics in 1977, he is an influential figure in Jharkhand.