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PM Modi's ‘Money Heist’ dig at Congress over Odisha cash haul, shares video
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a morphed video, created by BJP based on the Spanish hit series “Money Heist”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a swipe at the Congress over corruption after the Income Tax department seized around ₹350 crore ‘black money’ and about 3kg gold ornaments during a series of raids on distilleries in Odisha.
“In India, who needs 'Money Heist' fiction, when you have the Congress Party, whose heists are legendary for 70 years and counting!” Modi wrote on social media X while sharing a video posted by the Bharatiya Janata Party featuring stacks of currency notes recovered by the I-T Department and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP had earlier released the video slamming the Congress after the income tax department seized ₹353 crore during its raids at Boudh Distillery Private Limited, a company based in Odisha. The company is allegedly linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu. The BJP shared the video, terming it Congress’s “Money Heist”.
Earlier, on Friday, Modi took a took at the Congress, tagging a news report about the I-T department's recoveries in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Sahu.
"Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," Modi had posted from his official handle.
The Congress has chosen to distance itself from the Cash recovered at its MP's home claiming that only Sahu can explain how huge amounts of cash were found at his business.
"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" Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said.
The search was started on December 6 covering 25 premises in Odisha and Jharkhand. The counting of the currency of 176 bags was completed and the I-T department deposited the sized amount to the Government Treasury.
Opposition BJP in Odisha on Monday also intensified its attack on the ruling BJD and the Odisha government, accusing them of "facilitating illegal liquor trade in the state and proliferation of black money".
The BJP held protests in front of all the sub-divisions across Odisha against the alleged black money transactions.
“The excise policy of the Odisha government is responsible for the flourishing of the liquor mafia in the state. The government is providing undue benefits to the liquor baron and BJD is fighting elections with that black money,” BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Meanwhile, in the press conference, the BJD came down heavily on Odisha BJP leaders and pointed out that while the party's central leadership criticised the Congress by calling it as the storehouse of corruption, in Odisha, the BJP leaders instead attacked the regional party.
"In a way, Odisha BJP leaders have pledged to somehow save the Congress on this issue," BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said, adding that the saffron party in the state was doing this for its own political interests.
Congress spokesperson Rajani Mohanty in a statement said the BJD and BJP are two sides of the same coin.
"The allegations against the Congress by the BJD and BJP are laughable. The Congress has been dragged into the controversy," he said.
