Reacting to the Income Tax Department raids against actor Taapsee Pannu, and filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl among others, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and leader of opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Centre, calling the raids "Condemnable Act!"
Kashyap and Pannu have been vocal in their criticism of the BJP-led government at the Centre over various issues.
The IT Department had said it had raided premises linked to those who launched the now dissolved production house Phantom Films, Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhashish Sarkar, apart from Pannu.
Calling the Centre 'Nazi government," the Bihar politician, in a tweet, said social activists, journalists and artists who are "calling spade a spade," is being threatened.
"They first employed IT, CBI, ED to conduct raids on vocal & upright political rivals for their character assassination. Now Nazi govt is chasing social activists, journalists & artists to threaten them against calling spade a spade. Condemnable Act!," he tweeted.
They first employed IT, CBI, ED to conduct raids on vocal & upright political rivals for their character assassination.
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) March 3, 2021
Now Nazi govt is chasing social activists, journalists & artists to threaten them against calling spade a spade.
Condemnable Act! @taapsee @anuragkashyap72
Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik too had lashed out at the Centre over the raids, saying these are an attempt to suppress the voices of those who speak against the Union government.
"Central agencies like ED, CBI, and Income Tax are being used to target those who take an anti-government stand and speak against the policies of the regime," Malik had said, adding, "The premises of Anurag Kashyap and Pannu have been raided. Both were raising their voices against the Modi government. This action has been carried out to suppress their voices."
His cabinet colleague Ashok Chavan of the Congress said the raids are the Centre's way to pressurise people who put forth "facts" so that they do not speak up. "This is not new. We have been seeing this as happening often. Those who put forth facts are being pressurised in this way so that they dont speak up," Chavan said while replying to a question.
Hitting out at the Centre, another Maharashtra Minister Yashomati Thakur said the Income Tax Department's action against the Bollwyood figures stemmed from "vengeance". " They work with so much vengeance. They dont want anyone to enjoy the freedom a democracy gives. For them, it is an autocratic rule and whatever they say is right and whatever others want to say is wrong," the minister said.
— With PTI inputs
