‘The money came from the family’s liquor business and has nothing to do with Congress,’ claims Dhiraj Sahu
Dhiraj Sahu alleged that the money recovered by the IT department came from the sale of liquor from the liquor companies owned by him and his family.
New Delhi: Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu on Friday broke his silence on the huge amount of Rs 351 crore cash recovered during income tax raids on his premises, claiming that the money came from his family business and had nothing to do with Congress or any other political party.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Dhiraj Kumar Sahu claimed that the money recovered by the IT department came from the sale of liquor from the liquor companies owned by him and his family.
“In the last 30-35 years of my political career, this is the first time that this kind of incident has happened, which has left me injured. What’s happening today makes me sad. I can admit that the recovered money belongs to my company. The money recovered relates to my liquor businesses; it is the proceeds from the sale of liquor,” the Jharkhand MP said, according to ANI.
“My older brother was in politics and we did a lot of development work. My father helped the poor and we opened many colleges and schools. I have a liquor business, which is run by my family and relatives,” he said, adding that the family has been in the liquor business for over 100 years.
Sahu claimed that transactions in the liquor business are usually done in cash, which explains the huge amount recovered from his premises.
‘You may also know that transactions in the liquor trade are only done in cash. My company has been around for over 100 years. The seized money belongs to him,” he added.
‘Nothing to do with Congress’
Sahu further claimed that the money recovered from his premises had nothing to do with Congress or any other political party.
“This money has nothing to do with Congress or any other political party as is said…The money is not all mine, it belongs to my family and other related companies…IT has now raided, I will for everything accountability,” he said. added.
Black money or not?
When asked about the BJP’s claim of the cash being black money, Sahu said the income tax department had to decide whether it was ‘Kaala Dhan’ or ‘Safed Dhan’.
“I have already said that the money comes from my family’s business firms…Bring on the income tax side, whether it is ‘Kaala Dhan’ or ‘Safed Dhan’. I’m not in the business world. The members of my family will answer this,” he said.
“I don’t know how people feel about this, but I can confidently say that this money has nothing to do with Congress or any other political party,” he added.
Income Tax officials completed an IT raid on Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu’s premises in Odisha’s Balangir last week. The Income Tax department has so far netted Rs 351 crore in cash during its searches at Boudh Distillery Private Limited, a company based in Odisha. The company is said to have links with Dhiraj Sahu.
The Congress has now distanced itself from the huge amount of money recovered from the MP’s house, claiming that only Sahu can explain the money recovered from the properties linked to him.
(With inputs from ANI)