PM Modi Slams Congress Over Its MP's Rs 351 Cr Cash Haul, Compares It To ‘Money Heist’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a video showing pictures of Sahu with senior Congress leaders and the stacks of cash seized during Income Tax raids on premises linked to the Jharkhand MP.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress over the recovery of more than Rs 350 crore from premises linked to its MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. He compared the Congress to the popular crime series ‘Money Heist’, which depicts a group of robbers carrying out elaborate heists.

The prime minister made the comments in response to a post on X by the BJP, which shared a video showing pictures of Sahu with senior Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and the stacks of cash seized during Income Tax raids on premises linked to the Jharkhand MP.

The BJP captioned the video “Congress presents the Money Heist!” while the series’ popular title song plays in the background. “In India, who needs ‘Money Heist’ fiction, when you have the Congress Party, whose heists are legendary for 70 years and counting,” the prime minister said in his post.

In India, who needs 'Money Heist' fiction, when you have the Congress Party, whose heists are legendary for 70 years and counting! https://t.co/J70MCA5lcG

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 12, 2023

The cash seizure in the Income Tax department’s searches against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited owned by the family of Sahu – the Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP – has been calculated at Rs 351 crore and is the “highest-ever” haul in a single action by any probe agency in the country, official sources had said on Sunday.

The residences of Sahu were also searched. The recovery has given fresh ammunition to the BJP to come out all guns blazing at the Congress on the issue of graft.

BJP MP Giriraj Singh said, “You will see how the extent of corruption in the Congress Party is exposed. All this money (Rs 351 crores) was being saved by the Congress to be used in the upcoming elections against PM Modi. The ‘Ghamandiya’ alliance has given no statement concerning this seizure. Neither has Arvind Kejriwal given his stance on Satyendra Jain’s arrest nor has Mamata Banerjee cleared the air around Partha Chatterjee’s arrest…The people of India will give a befitting reply to the Congress Party…”

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Congress party and corruption are two synonymous words. The ongoing IT raids against Dhiraj Sahu and all other corrupt activities happening around the country by the Congress and its alliance are getting exposed so the Congress party is very upset with the agencies and the PM. The Congress party can’t escape from their wrong deeds, they have to pay a price…”

The Congress on the other hand has tried to distance itself from its Rajya Sabha MP saying the onus is on the MP to explain the cash recoveries.

Congress MP KC Venugopal said, “We have a clear stand, that it has nothing to do with the Congress party. Dheeraj Sahu himself will have to explain why such a seizure is being made from his house. The party is not associated with this at all. We saw weeks ago that a video has come out of a Union Minister’s son where he is talking about crores of rupees.”