Raids unprecedented in Tamil Nadu political history: Stalin

“Income Tax authorities have carried out searches at the house of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary. This is unprecedented in Tamil Nadu’s political history,” he said in a statement hours after raids commenced at over a dozen locations in connection with I-T’s tax evasion probe against Rao’s son and few other relatives. The official residence of the Chief Secretary here is also understood to have been brought under the said operation. 

The total seizure in the case is over Rs 170 crore in a single case related to action against sand mining operators and few others in the state, including Sekar Reddy who was also on the panel of a religious shrine body. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a money laundering complaint in this case after the tax department shared official documents with the agency. Meanwhile, CPI(M) said Rao has ‘lost the qualification’ to continue as Chief Secretary following I-T authorities conducting searches at his premises.

With West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slamming the Centre for its ‘technically improper’ raid at state Chief Secretary’s office and house, bureaucrats in the state have validated the raid even while questioning the ethics behind such a move.

The officers also faulted the ruling dispensation for its mellowed response.  A senior serving IAS officer in the government, requesting anonymity, told DTNext, “They did it to Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, now they are doing it in Tamil Nadu. Though they are at liberty to raid any place and any person they suspect would hoard unaccounted wealth, it is not ethical to raid a Chief Secretary’s office without the state government’s consent. It is the state government’s premises.”

“Will they raid the Army headquarters if they suspect some officer to be amassing wealth?” another serving bureaucrat wondered. However, he was quick in admitting that it was legally tenable to raid the CS’ office, but it was ethically wrong, the officer remarked, adding that the raid has more to do with the political equation between the Centre and State.