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Where’s the proof? Tejashwi Yadav hits back over tax notice
The income tax department has served notices of attachment of assets to Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and daughters Chanda and Ragini Yadav.
Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said on Tuesday he was not aware of any income tax notice to anyone in his family.
He was responding to reports that the I-T department has charged his father, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, and the family under the benami transactions law in connection with an inquiry into land deals worth Rs 1,000 crore and tax evasion.
“I have not seen any such I-T notice. Whatever is being said is conjecture and plain lie,” the deputy chief minister said.
Notices were reportedly served to Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi and daughters Chanda and Ragini Yadav.
“If those levelling charges have any proof, let them put it up. As far as we know, we have not violated any provisions and everything is declared and above board. If they call us for investigation, they will have the answers,” Tejashwi said.
The BJP accused Prasad, Bharti, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, another minister in the Bihar government, of involvement in corrupt land deals and asked the central government to probe one such transaction in Delhi.
Tejashwi countered that “this is a stratagem to brush the family with taint”.
“It is clear that this is part of a political vendetta … We have also charged people with amassing illegal wealth. In their case nothing is happening. What does that show? What the media is writing is without proof,” he said.
Tax officials in Patna were not available for comments. It was not immediately known which properties owned by the Prasad family were being probed, or had provisionally been attached.
