Stop harassing people: Moily

Veteran Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday expressed shock over "tax terrorism" and said that the misuse of Central agencies such as ED and CBI was "quite alarming."

In the wake of Congress leader Shivakumar's arrest by the ED, Moily, a former union minister, said in a statement: "Shivakumar is not only a politician but also a former minister and an investor. The continuous interrogation and harassment is writ-large. While investigation can be initiated but should not appear that such intent or investigation should be politically biased and also reflect persecution instead of prosecution (sic)."

Moily also refered to the suicide of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha. "His death note reflects tax terrorism," Moily said, while also referring to statements by Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and former Infosys director T V Mohandas Pai on the "torturous situation in the country."

Moily urged the Centre to stop "the process of terrorising and harassment naming people as criminals even before the judicial process is set in motion." He said in the US, investors who go bankrupt are not treated as criminals as is done in India. "Even Donald Trump had declared himself bankrupt but process again enabled him to raise himself not only as an investor but empowered him to become US president," Moily said.