BJP can't suppress our voice: Hry Cong after I-T raids

Terming the Income Tax raids on Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi's premises as "malicious", the party's state unit on Saturday said the BJP government cannot "suppress" the voice of its opponents by "misusing" central probe agencies.

Addressing a public meeting here to express solidarity with Bishnoi, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that the probe agency was working at the behest of the BJP government.

He also said that the raids which went on for four consecutive days were aimed at "torturing" Bishnoi who is also a member of party's central working committee.

"The BJP is misusing central agencies to suppress the voice of their political opponents," said Surjewala as he demanded a judicial probe into the raids.

"Entire Congress is united against the BJP government's tactics," he said.

Later, the state Congress leaders also staged a protest in the city.

Bishnoi, the son of former Haryana chief minister late Bhajan Lal, had earlier said that the raids reflected the "close mind" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The I-T department sleuths had simultaneously raided Bishnoi's properties in his assembly constituency Adampur and Gurgaon, Delhi and Hisar on Tuesday. The search at the Adampur property concluded earlier than others.

The sleuths, looking for documents and evidence in connection with a tax-evasion probe linked to Bishnoi, returned to Delhi on Friday afternoon.

Bishnoi and his wife Renuka, the legislator from Hansi, won their respective seats in 2014 as Haryana Janhit Congress candidates, but they merged their party with the Congress in 2016.