Indore: During model code of conduct, Income-Tax department will now have to give advance information about any raid or search to chief electoral officer of state concerned. This was stated by chief electoral officer VL Kanta Rao while talking to reporters during his visit to Indore on Wednesday. Rao, who was in Indore to review poll preparations, was questioned about the Income-Tax searches conducted against Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s OSD Praveen Kakkar in Bhopal, Indore, New Delhi and Goa.
Replying to the query, Rao also said that the I-T department has already sent a report to the chief electoral officer in New Delhi. He further said that following searches in different states during model code of conduct, a protocol had been established with state’s chief electoral officer being made nodal officer. It has been claimed that the I-T search against Kakkar was politically motivated. However, evidence of cash transactions running into crores indicated that it was meant for a political party. Rao said that as the search was conducted by I-T team from New Delhi, a report has been sent to chief electoral officer of the Union Territory. Hence, he was unable to comment on the report.
