Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused the Centre of “vendetta politics” after the Income Tax Department raided hospitals owned by family members of his former party colleague Yogendra Yadav.
The Aam Aadmi Party had expelled Yogendra Yadav, a founding member, in April 2015 for alleged anti-party activities. Yadav now runs the political organisation Swaraj India.
“We strongly condemn victimisation of Yog [Yogendra] Yadav’s family by Modi government through the use of agencies like IT [Income Tax Department],” Kejriwal wrote on Twitter. “Modi government should stop such vendetta politics.”
On Wednesday, Yadav accused the Narendra Modi government of targeting his family after the income tax raids at a hospital group in Haryana’s Rewari city. Yadav alleged that the raids were conducted in retaliation for his agitation for farmers.
The Income Tax Department has said that it recovered over Rs 20 lakh in cash during raids, DNA reported. Income Tax Department officials said the raids were conducted after they discovered that owners of the hospital group made cash payments to a firm owned by fugitive businessman Nirav Modi.
After the statement by tax officials, Yadav told The Indian Express: “Whatever was found during the raid is for the hospital authorities to explain. I raised my voice because they are being punished for my actions.”
The Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party rejected the charge that the Modi government was targeting Yadav’s family, PTI reported. “Yadav’s charge is baseless, there is no truth in the allegations made by him,” Haryana BJP Vice President Rajiv Jain said. “Where is the question of intimidating anyone? If the Income Tax Department has found anything against anyone, let it do its job and the truth will come out.”
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