BJP Seeks Jharkhand CM's Apology Over Comment On I-T Officer's Vehicle

The BJP on Sunday sought an apology from Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for alleging that an officer of the Income Tax department went to conduct a raid on a vehicle provided by the opposition party in the state.

Screening a video clip of the purported owner of the vehicle at the party's state headquarters here, the BJP claimed that the chief minister made the comment without checking facts.

In the clip, one Dinesh Mahto who claimed to be the owner of the vehicle said he had provided the car to the BJP on rent for a programme and forgot to remove the parking sticker provided by the party.

"I am not associated with any political party -- whether it is BJP, JMM or Congress," he said in the video. The vehicle was later used by the Income Tax Department for search operations with the BJP sticker still on it.

BJP spokesperson Misfika Hasan said, "The chief minister, which is a constitutional post, blamed the BJP and constitutional institutions from a public platform without checking the fact. CM's act has hurt every worker of the party. We demand his public apology."

At a government function in Palamu on Friday, Soren alleged that an officer of the I-T Department went to conduct a raid on a vehicle provided by the BJP. Soren's statement came hours after ally Congress's MLAs Kumar Jaimangal and Pradeep Yadav were raided on tax evasion charges.

The BJP also announced that it will organise a block-level agitation programme in the state from November 7. "The programme will be held across 263 blocks of the state from November 7 to November 13 to expose the government's anti-people policies and corruption," Hasan said.

(With PTI inputs)