Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today demanded probe into the grant of immunity from prosecution to Sahara India by the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC).
Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue, Rahul tweeted: "Immunity for Sahara or immunity for Modiji? If your conscience is clear Modiji why fear investigation?"
The Congress leader’s reaction came close on the heels of a media report which said that the ITSC has granted Sahara immunity from prosecution and penalty following raids conducted on November 2014 during which the purported "diaries" listing alleged pay-offs to politicians were recovered.
Significantly, the ITSC has concurred with Sahara's claim that the ‘evidentiary value’ of the ‘loose sheets recovered during the raids could not be proved by the Income Tax Department”, according to the report.
The report claimed that the order showed that the ITSC had earlier rejected the application of the company and then on September 5, 2016 re-admitted it.
Rahul had alleged a fortnight back that Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups and had demanded an independent inquiry into it, a charge the BJP rejected as an attempt to divert attention from AgustaWestland probe in which the names of Congress leaders and the ‘family’ were coming up.
With PTI Inputs
