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Income tax raids trigger cartoon war between SP, BJP in Uttar Pradesh
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav shares cartoon on Twitter, his party also puts up poster outside its office, BJP hits back
Income tax raids on Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders have become the new flash point in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh (UP) with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition party using cartoons to spar with each other.
The Samajwadi Party also put up a poster outside its party headquarters in Lucknow that essentially said that SP had Akhilesh, while the BJP had central agencies, including income tax, enforcement directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
While the income tax department that had carried out a survey on Samajwadi Party leaders considered close to party chief Akhilesh Yadav, remained tight-lipped even after over 36 hours of the whole exercise, the SP chief on Monday shared a cartoon that led to the BJP’s counter.
The income tax dept has reportedly wound up its assessment on SP national spokesman Rajiv Rai though assessment had still not officially concluded on some leaders in Lucknow.
The cartoon that Akhilesh shared on Twitter showed “on election duty” written on a vehicle of the income tax department to drive home his point that the income tax exercise on his party leaders just ahead of the elections was politically motivated. In the run-up to the 2022 UP polls, Yadav’s party has emerged as the chief opposition player that is trying to stop the ruling BJP from a second successive stint in power in the most populous state.
The cartoon that Akhilesh shared went viral in no time as the SP chief had mentioned lines from the Hindu holy book Ramcharitmanas with the cartoon. The lines went thus:
“Hit anhit pashu pakshioo jaana, manus tanu ganu gyan nidhana (amid the sages, animals roam without fear but run away at the sight of hunters. How can human beings not be aware of that what animals know instinctively).”
The SP leaders, whose premises were searched included Jainendra Yadav, a close aide of Akhilesh Yadav. His Vishal Khand-Gomtinagar residence in the state capital was searched. The others whose premises were searched were party spokesperson Rajiv Rai (at Mau district’s Sahadatpura) and contractor Manoj Yadav from Punjabi Bagh locality of Mainpuri, who is believed to be close to the SP chief and a Lucknow-based businessman.
Akhilesh’s cartoon jibe at the BJP drew a counter from the ruling party, which responded with another one that showed Akhilesh stating “Yogi hai, anupayogi (Yogi is unsuitable)” even as income tax sleuths held a bird on which it was written “income disproportionate to known sources of income.”
Income tax sleuths were also shown holding a briefcase on which it was written “on national duty.” This tweet by the BJP, too, went viral even as top leaders of both BJP and the SP spoke on the raids.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had on Sunday said that income tax raids had rattled the Samajwadi Party. In response, the SP chief charged the BJP with misusing the central agencies for poll gains.
Adityanath had targeted the main opposition party’s accusations against the government reflected a ‘guilty conscience’.
He had also said that the “wealth of some people went up by 200 times in five years of Samajwadi Party rule.”
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also defended the raids. He said only the corrupt fear it even as the SP found support from several opposition parties on the issue.
Asked about the outcome of the tax survey findings on SP leaders, a tax official not associated with the survey said such assessment exercises are usually a long-drawn affair.
“Usually, these surveys and assessments stretch for long and there is a long procedural part, which includes cheque books and balance sheets of those surveyed,” a tax official said.
