Telangana minister calls I-T raids ‘political vendetta’

Hyderabad: Telangana’s Minister for Labour and Employment Malla Reddy on Wednesday alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was carrying out the Income Tax (I-T) raids on his premised out of “political vendetta”.

As the I-T Department continued searches at the offices and residences of Malla Reddy and his family members for a second day, the Minister slammed the Central government for what he called its conspiracy to target them and their institutions.

Telling reporters that CRPF personnel also acted with highhandedness with his son, he said that “all this is happening because I am the minister in the TRS government. They are deliberately doing all this to target the KCR government”.

Malla Reddy’s elder son Mahender Reddy was taken to hospital with chest pain.

The Minister alleged that his son was harassed which led to his taking ill.

“My elder son was harassed. He is serious. I am going to the hospital,” he said.

I-T officials accompanied the Minister when he left for the hospital in Suraram.

He further alleged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was using 200 officials to conduct the ongoing raids.

“Are we thieves? Are we indulging smuggling or running casinos?” he queried and said the institutions were built by him and his family members with the hard work of several years.

Malla Reddy also claimed that the educational institutions run by him were helping students from poor families by providing them engineering and MBA seats at a concessional fee.

A large number of the Minister’s supporters and TRS workers gathered outside his house in Bowenpally and raised slogans against the Centre.