IB harassing my kin, not violated any rule: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Anna Hazare's aide Arvind Kejriwal, who has been issued an Income Tax notice to pay Rs 9 lakh as dues during his service in the government till 2006, on Friday said he had not violated any rules and the official claims were baseless.

"I have not violated any rule. In 2006, when I had resigned from the service, I had written to the government to deduct my dues from my general provident fund (GPF)," Kejriwal told reporters.

However, the government did not deduct the dues and instead served him a notice after four years and just before Hazare began his fast for a stronger Lokpal Bill, he said.

Kejriwal alleged that his uncle and other relatives in Siwani in Haryana were probed and harassed by officials of the Intelligence Bureau and other agencies. Officials were asking people to give information about any irregularity by him or relatives, he added.

Anna Hazare's chief aide Arvind Kejriwal was slapped a notice by the Income Tax department asking him to pay dues of more than Rs 9 lakh a week before the Gandian was to launch his fast and at a time when Team Anna was engaged in a high voltage clash with the government.

The I-T department -- that has still not accepted Kejriwal's resignation from the Indian Revenue Service tendered in February 2006 and continues to recognize him as a government servant -- has held that he violated bond conditions. His resignation, according to the government, can only be accepted once the dues are cleared.

In a reply submitted on Thursday to the department, the anti-corruption campaigner said he had not violated any bond conditions. He said the bond he signed only said that he should not resign or retire during the period of study leave, stressing that he had not violated either of the conditions.

The I-T department has accused Kejriwal of not returning to government service after the sanctioned study leave. It has demanded that he return two years' salary amounting to Rs 3.50 lakh and interest accumulated so far of Rs 4.16 lakh. Kejriwal had also taken a computer loan of which Rs 50,000 was due and interest accumulated amounted to Rs 1 lakh.