Housing Minister V. Somanna tried to play down Income Tax raid on the residence and office of Umesh, who was the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s personal assistant while he was in office. “Carrying out raids is a normal and routine process that follows a private complaint,” he added.
Refuting the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s allegations that internal conflict in the party [BJP] might be the reason for IT raids on Mr. Yediyurappa’s close aide, Mr. Somanna said that the raid is nowhere related to the party or its leaders. “It is not right to give political colour to it,” he added.
Mr. Somanna exuded the confidence in the BJP winning both the Sindgi and Hangal Assembly constituencies in the by-polls scheduled on October 30.
Reacting to Mr. Kumaraswamy’s statement on RSS, Mr. Somanna said that the RSS is a patriotic organisation that is safeguarding the country. The RSS has received appreciation for its service to the nation and Mr. Kumaraswamy should have thought for a while before making such statements.
His remarks came in response to the recent comments made by Mr. Kumaraswamy who said that the RSS of today cannot be compared to the RSS of 40 years ago. Today, the RSS controls the BJP and its leaders, he had said.
