"Cong leaders' houses have become ATMs of black money"

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday alleged that houses of Congress leaders have become "ATMs of black money" from where huge sums are being recovered.

His attack on the Congress came a day after the Income Tax Department said it has detected a "widespread and well-organised" racket of collection of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crore during raids against close aides of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and others.

The Congress has slammed the raids as political vendetta and alleged that the Modi government was being blinded by revenge in the manner its probe agencies were acting against BJP's political opponents.

Terming the Congress "benami sampati" (benami property), Naqvi alleged that houses of Congress leaders have become "ATMs of black money" from where "huge quantities of black money is being recovered every day".

Instead of levelling charges of "political vendetta", the Congress should explain to probe agencies as well the people of the country from where such huge sums of black money has come from, he told reporters.

On the remarks by National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti that removal of Article 370 will lead to "freedom" of Kashmir, Naqvi said: "Kashmir will definitely get freedom, but Kashmir will get freedom from terrorism, separatism and friends of separatists like Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti."

Naqvi said every obstacle in the development of people of Kashmir will be removed.