"If money was seized, inquiry should happen": Congress' TS Singhdeo on Odisha I-T raids

"If there was money recovered, then inquiry should happen. A probe should be conducted on where the money came from," Singh Deo said.

As the raids entered the third day on Thursday, December 8, Income Tax sleuths recovered more than Rs 200 crore in cash from several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand.

The residences of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu were also searched.

The raids were conducted at Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and entities linked to it.

Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd., which is a group company of Boudh Distilleries covered in the search, is linked to Dheeraj Sahu.

Further speaking on the results of the state assembly elections declared on December 3, the Congress leader said that the his party did not lose its vote share in the state rather Bharatiya Janata Party significantly increased its share to register a thumping victory.

"The poll result showed we lagged in tribal areas. We managed to win 11 out of 29 seats in the tribal area. We also managed to win three to four seats in urban, and semi-urban areas. Our vote share has not fallen but BJP vote share increased," Singhdeo said.

He added that it is not appropriate to question EVMs after losing the elections

"I'm not in favour of EVMs because even developed countries like Great Britain or America among others have abandoned this system and follow paper ballot voting," he added.

The election results in four states, especially the losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, came as a huge blow to the Congress's hopes for 2024, as it is now out of power across a vast swathe of the Hindi heartland.

Of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35, claiming a significant vote share of 46.27 per cent to 42.23 per cent of the incumbent Congress.

The resounding mandate for the BJP in the tribal heartland is also being seen as a thumbs down to the Congress's caste census pledge. (ANI)