I-T dept to summon MP officials, Kamal Nath's relatives

New Delhi: The I-T department will soon summon top officials of the Madhya Pradesh government, politicians and relatives of Chief Minister Kamal Nath as part of its probe into an alleged “widespread and well-organised” hawala racket of about Rs 281 crore unearthed during the Lok Sabha polls, sources said on Tuesday. Officials said the Income Tax (I-T) department will also issue notices for appearance to some of Nath's close aides based in state capital Bhopal and his constituency, Chhindwara, as part of its action to widen the probe into the case. As the cash and the hawala deals had “clear links” to the poll process, according to sources, the Election Commission (EC) will issue notices to certain Congress candidates who contested the recent parliamentary polls from various seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Their names figured in an I-T appraisal report prepared by the department after raids were conducted at 52 locations in the state and in Delhi last month. The report had already been submitted to the EC and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the sources said. Nath and his aides had earlier termed the I-T action against them as malicious. “All these fake statements of theirs (I-T department)... they themselves make statements. They themselves give it to the press. So, if they are playing politics, well...there is no end to politics,” Nath had told PTI.