I-T Dept searches Sonu Sood's home for second straight day; Oppn slams BJP, saffron party denies political link

A day after Income Tax Department officials descended on premises linked to Sonu Sood in Mumbai and some other places on Wednesday in connection with an alleged tax evasion probe, officials continued searches at the home of the actor on Thursday."A recent deal between Sonu Sood's company and a Lucknow-based real estate firm is under the scanner. The survey has been initiated on allegations of tax evasion on this deal," sources calling the operation a "survey" told NDTV .This development comes on the heels of Sood being appointed brand ambassador for a "Desh ka Mentors" programme for school students introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. His meeting with AAP head and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sent ripples across the political sphere, many assuming his debut with the party would be announced soon.Sood, however, bushed aside the rumours saying, "No politics was discussed. As of now we have not discussed anything political."The BJP has denied allegations of any political link to the raids, with BJP's Maharashtra MLA Ram Kadam telling NDTV: "If any central agency takes any action, the entire opposition along with Congress calls it political. Should these agencies stopped working? These operations are transparent". However, the the Opposition parties took to Twitter to slam the BJP. Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande slammed what she called "selective targeting" and accused the BJP of a "Talibani" ideology, as per NDTV. AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha tweeted: AAP took to Twitter to condemn the raids from its official handle. AAP's Atishi tweeted:Congress' Supriya Shrinate tweeted:TMC MP Mahua Moitra tweeted:Sood grabbed the spotlight by providing transportation for migrant workers to return home during the migrant exodus that took place in India during 2020.He came to the rescue again this year with hospital beds, medical amenities and oxygen when COVID-19 ravaged India during the second wave.The actor's fans across India have taken to Twitter to express their solidarity with Sood. Currently, #SonuSood #SonuSoodRealHero #SonuSoodITSurvey and #IstandWithSonuSood are trending on Twitter. With inputs from agencies