Graft Cases Filed in UPA Era; Rooms Full of Cash Found During Searches, Says FM | Exclusive

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, responding to the Opposition’s claims of misuse of central agencies against their leaders, said that many of the cases were filed when their alliance was in power.

“Many of the cases being pursued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Income Tax department or Enforcement Directorate, they can’t come to the level of arrest or interrogation overnight. The cases were originally filed during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Many of the cases belong to that era. The level and the time consumed for each stage to mature and to reach a stage where summons are being served, it consumes a lot of time. It is not as if we have done it,” the FM said.

“Second, if a survey or a search happens, tell me if they have come empty-handed. Rooms full of cash, at a time when we are talking about common man doing digital payments. You have people sitting with tonnes full of currency notes in their homes. Nowadays everything is videographed. We can’t make claims of cash being kept without proof,” she said.

“So it is very well to use as a whip to hit at the ruling party that they are using the ED or I-T…These are professional agencies. They take huge time to make their cases compact and ready. And you have to submit the documents to the court. The era is changing. People don’t want leaders who are corrupt…So when the ED knocks at your doors, common people are saying it. You may cry hoarse saying it is politically used. You filed a case against your own ally. There are partners in crime and then there are partners and enemies too,” Sitharaman said.