Arun Jaitley On Cong-JDS Anti-Tax Raids Protest: This Is Self-Goal

“Disproportionality” of the reaction of the Congress and the JDS raised a needle of suspicion, said Jaitley.

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today slammed the Congress for protesting against the income tax department in Karnataka.

In a Facebook post, he said the “disproportionality” of the reaction of the Congress and the JDS raised a needle of suspicion. “If no politician has been searched, no minister has been searched, then why the protest? The Bengaluru case is a textbook method of the UPA on 2 fronts: use government money, round trip it through contractors and beneficiaries to enrich themselves and then lip sympathy for federalism destroying it whenever the opportunity arises. This is a very transparent self-goal,” Jaitley said in the post titled “The UPA makes corruption a cause”.

On Thursday, Kumaraswamy, Congress and JDS leaders protested in front of the income tax department in Bengaluru as tax officers launched raids across Karnataka.

Jaitley said it was unprecedented that the chief minister of a state joined the street protest against income tax searches with a political motivation. “…Was the minister’s nephew a PWD (public works department) contractor to whom largesses have been given – a case of nepotism? The CM and the ministers who joined the protest need to answer these questions,” Mr Jaitley said.

Responding to Jaitley, Kumaraswamy today alleged the tax department was “harassing” Congress and JDS workers and sought “immediate intervention” of the Election Commission. “A shameful attempt to threaten and generate fear among our workers. We request the Election Commission to immediately intervene and stop this harassment of our workers,” the chief minister tweeted.