"Congress says big things...": TMC leader Kunal Ghosh over IT raids on Dheeraj Sahu

"When the BJP sends central agencies to harass TMC, Congress says big things and supports them but when their own leaders are raided, they feel bad," said Ghosh.

Ghosh also emphasised that the party should think about the recovery of cash from the premises of their Rajya Sabha MP, Dheeraj Sahu.

"This is a matter of investigation and currently we must not comment on it, but Congress should think about it. When the BJP sends central agencies to harass TMC, Congress says big things and supports them but when their own leaders are raided, they feel bad," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ashwini Choubey termed the recovery of over Rs 200 crore of cash recovered in the raid on Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu premises "unfortunate" and added "that people will not forgive them."

"He (Dheeraj Sahu) should be expelled from the party but they (Congress) are speaking in his favour. People are seeing all this. It is unfortunate and people will not forgive them," Choubey said while speaking to ANI.

"Those who are looting public money will have to be behind bars. The Congress will be destroyed," he added .

The Congress has been facing heat from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the seizure of huge amounts of cash during the Income Tax raids at premises linked to Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu.

Income Tax sleuths have recovered more than Rs 200 crore cash from several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand during their raids against Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and entities linked to it.

The residences of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu were also searched.The episode has provided fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is leaving no stone unturned to attack the opposition Congress over the incident.

Union Minister Smriti Irani has questioned the grand old party and said that the Gandhi family must tell the country for which Congress leader, the Rajya Sabha MP, was working as an 'ATM'.

"Rs 200 crore has been recovered from the premises of their party MP, Dheeraj Prasad Sahu and the counting is still going on. Mohabbat Ki Dukaan Mein Corruption Ka Karobaar Chal Raha Hai (a business of corruption is being run in Mohabbat Ki Dukaan). The Congress high command, which means the Gandhi family, will have to tell the country for which Congress leader of the Gandhi family he was working as an ATM," she said on Friday while speaking to ANI.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his X handle, tagging a news report about the I-T department recovering Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Sahu, took a swipe at the opposition party.

"Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of their (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," PM Modi said in a post with several emojis.

Meanwhile, the Congress said that the party is in no way connected with the businesses of the former and that the lawmaker from Jharkhand should explain the matter.

On social media platform X, the Congress General Secretary in Charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, said that only Dheeraj Sahu can explain the huge amounts of cash reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties.

"The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," the Congress leader wrote on X. (ANI)