Big conspiracy to tarnish my image, Kuldeep Bishnoi on I-T raids

In his first reaction to the Income Tax raids conducted against him and his family,   Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi on Tuesday alleged that a "big conspiracy" was being hatched to tarnish his image, as he asserted that he had done clean politics all his life.

Addressing his supporters at Adampur in Hisar district, he said, "You know me since childhood. I have been doing politics for three decades now. I always did clean and honest politics and one based on self-respect and principles."

"I do not know what all is coming out in the media, they are talking about black money. In my entire life, I did not occupy any government post... I was never a minister, chief minister or hold any other post, so where is the question of black money coming in?" Bishnoi said.

Stashed foreign assets worth over Rs 200 crore were detected after the Income Tax department conducted raids against Bishnoi and his family, the CBDT said on Sunday.

The department had searched 13 premises linked to the Congress leader in Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh on July 23. His residential premises at Hisar and Adampur, from where he is a sitting MLA, were also searched.

Bishnoi, younger son of former Haryana chief minister late Bhajan Lal, alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to hurt his image.

"A big conspiracy is being hatched to tarnish my image," he said.

The 50-year-old former MP added, "They claim I have diamond mines in South Africa... friends, my wife has only one ring and that too she got at the time of marriage. Not even one member of my family has ever visited South Africa."

"If anyone can prove the charges levelled against me, I will leave politics...," he added.

His wife and Congress MLA Renuka was also present.

Bishnoi along with his father Bhajan Lal floated Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) in 2007 after the latter was edged out of the race of chief ministership, when the Congress high command handpicked Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the post following the party's thumping victory in the 2005 assembly polls.

The HJC later entered into a tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two other parties, who jointly contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana. The parties were to contest the 2014 assembly polls together, but the alliance crumbled weeks before the polls.

Three years ago, the HJC returned to the fold of the grand old party.