A street drama was held at the streets of Bengaluru, sponsored by the leaders of Janata Dal(S)- Congress union, similar to that of the drama acted out by Mamata Banerjee and co. in Kolkata to fend off the CBI probe. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and others formed a blockade in front of the Income Tax office in relation with the tax raids. The state leaders allege that the BJP lead central government is hounding them down on purpose through such raids. The IT department explained that the raid was conducted on the information provided by the Intelligence Bureau regarding illegal currency, and the probe wasn’t carried out on purpose to demean any person. It’s a crime to store illegal money and jewelry during the time of the election. The department was able to seize currency of about Rs. Two crores and jewelry worth Rs. 1.75 crores through raids. The IT department officers carried out raids at the residences of top businessmen and officers who have a direct relationship with ministers. It came as no surprise that this irked the state authorities as the local police assistance was avoided. It is no coincidence that the IT department targeted the residences of those people who manage departments with great chances of illegal currency inflow.

While it’s a common thing for the IT department to conduct raids, during the time of elections it achieves a political dimension. At the same time, it’s a shameful act from the ministers of a state to stage a blockade. If illegal currency wasn’t seized in the raids, these leaders could have generated a positive emotion amongst the public. It has become a growing tendency to mix politics when something doesn’t go as planned. The state-center relationships are becoming weaker by the day. Scenes at Kolkata and Bengaluru are part of political exploitation. Money intended to be spent at elections are getting seized at several places. Votes are now weighed with money. It’s not a secret that several candidates win elections with wealth. The maximum money that can be spent at the time of election campaigning per constituency is set at Rs. 70 lakhs. How many candidates do follow this? Ideally, money should not influence elections. However, political parties are not ready for this.