The Income Tax (IT) Department, on the 9th of April, raided three different properties of Galla Jayadev, a Member of Parliament (MP) of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP.)
The raids were carried out at three locations, where the TDP workers and the team members of Jayadev were staying.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Jayadev said, he was targeted through the raids, as he recently criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public rally.
Jayadev said, “It is happening at three locations where my election team was staying. I am demanding an explanation on why we are being targeted. This country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going down a fascist path. Because I have spoken against him, initiated a non-confidence motion against him, I am being targeted like this.”
Jayadev said, he, along with the TDP members, will call for a dharna against the biased treatment of the Election Commission (EC) and the IT Department. He also said, the EC and the IT Department are behaving like PM Modi’s puppets.
The TDP members also raised a question about the activities of the EC and the IT Department, as to why the agencies are targeting only the TDP and not the opposition parties.
Jayadeva said, “Why is TDP being targeted in Andhra Pradesh? If EC and all government agencies are working impartially it should be happening to people of all parties. This is an attempt by the Government to influence the elections. We are moving towards a state of emergency in the Country.”
Mr. Jayadev said, the IT raids have only been conducted at the properties of the TDP members, whereas the properties of the members of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and the JanaSena Party remain untouched.
Jayadev is not the first TDP member whose property was raided ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, alleged PM Modi of misusing the independent agencies for winning the Lok Sabha elections.
He also criticised K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR,) the Chief Minister of Telangana, for supporting Jagan Mohan Reddy to stall the growth of Andhra Pradesh.
He said, the KCR led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) wants to rule AP, hence it is supporting Jagan, who would follow the orders of KCR after winning the AP Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Andhra Pradesh will contest a total of 175 seats and 25 seats in the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections respectively. The elections in the State are scheduled on the 11th of April.
The major parties contesting the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are the TDP, the YSRCP and the JanaSena Party.
The results of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be declared on the 23rd of May 2019.
Stay tuned for further updates about the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections.
