Shiv Sena gives saffron hue to Nashik I-T raids

Mumbai: After Income Tax (I-T) raids at offices and homes of two priests in Trimbakeshwar in Nashik earlier this week, the Shiv Sena has blamed the government for being discriminatory towards Hindus.

The raids were conducted in the backdrop of the demonetisation decision announced by the Modi government. The I-T sleuths had seized an undisclosed amount of money in cash from the priests. According to reports, searches were conducted on the offices and homes of two top priests of Trimbakeshwar last Tuesday for allegedly possessing unaccounted cash. Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Saamana on Saturday sought to know if the authorities would show the same courage when it comes to places of worship other than Hindu temples.

“Even if they (priests) do have money, the wealth is not created by illegal means. There is nothing wrong in earning money by working hard in extreme weather conditions,” the Sena said. The saffron party has been against the implementation of the demonetisation and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has criticised the government on the issue. “Trimbakeshwar is a place where all kinds of Hindu rituals are performed for which hundreds of people from across the nation come. People say priests here must be having a lot of money. But how much money will priests have? Even if they do have money, the wealth is not collected by illegal means,” it said.

Lashing at the government for the raids, the Sena said the BJP has declared itself as ‘secular’ by conducting the searches at the Hindu priests homes. “The BJP government has shown that only Hindus posses black money. What about the churches that received money from abroad to convert dalits and tribal?  Also, Islamic countries provide money to the madarsa and masjids. Will the government conduct raids on them too?” it asked.