The head of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar, conducted an excavation at the Center on Tuesday after receiving a tip from the Income Tax department. The notice, he said, was sent to him because the Center “loves us.”
“We are happy that they (the Center) love us from among all the members … the notice was delivered by the Income Tax after the Electoral Commission requested it … we will respond to the notice,” he said while speaking with reporters.
The notice was sent in connection with the voting affidavits that Pawar submitted to the Election Commission.
Pawar said the income tax department has sought his “clarification and explanation” in some voting affidavits.
The head of NCP was responding to a question about reports that his daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule, Maharashtra Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray had received similar notices from the Income Tax department.
On Tuesday he is observing a fast day to protest the suspension of eight Rajya Sabha members. Pawar, a member of Rajya Sabha, lamented the conduct of Vice President Harivansh and the decision of the Modi government to “crush” the opposition in the House.
“All eight deputies were expelled for expressing their opinion,” Pawar said, adding that the vice president did not prioritize (House) rules.
The MPs were suspended for the remaining part of the monsoon session for their “misconduct” during the passage of farm laws on Sunday. The two agricultural bills, the Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services, 2020 and the Trade in Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, were approved by oral vote. in Parliament. The opposition demanded that these bills be sent to a select committee.
Three of the eight suspended deputies belong to Congress. The party, along with some others, has said that it will boycott the Rajya Sabha proceedings until the suspension of the deputies is lifted.
Congress has also said that it will take to the streets across the country against the government for passing bills “against farmers and the poor” in Parliament.
The party will also launch a campaign to collect two million signatures from farmers protesting the proposed legislation.
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