I-T raids on Sena leaders with BMC polls in sight, says Aditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray on Tuesday (March 8) trained his guns at the Modi government for selectively “targeting” opposition parties and “misusing” Central agencies like the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate to silence voices of dissent during election year.

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Thackeray Junior, the Environment and Tourism Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, reacted after the Income Tax (I-T) Department raided prominent leaders close Aaditya Thackeray and Anil Parab, another Shiv Sainik.

Aditya Thackeray said the Centre is selectively targeting opposition-ruled Bengal and Maharashtra. “It first happened in Bengal followed by Andhra Pradesh…and if elections are to be held in Maharashtra, it is happening here too,” he said.

Thackeray was hinting at the upcoming elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

On Tuesday, the I-T Department raided the offices and homes of Rahul Kanal, a trustee of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi. Kanal is reportedly close to Aditya Thackeray. Raids were also carried out on the properties of Sadanand Kadam, the brother of senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam and on the office of Bajrang Kharmate.

Sadanand Kadam and Bajrang Kharmate are supposedly close to Sena Minister Anil Parab.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, “Each and every ward of Mumbai will be raided till the BMC elections do not conclude. The question that begs an answer is why only people in Maharashtra and West Bengal are targeted?”