Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity and Prohibition V. Senthilbalaji said on Friday that the Income Tax Department had not conducted any search at his house. The houses and premises of his friends and relatives were searched, and they would extend cooperation to officials, he said.
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“If the I-T Department points out any mistake, they are ready to rectify it. In fact, they have paid advance tax. They have said they have not evaded tax. They are willing to make amends if any issue is flagged,” he told reporters in Chennai.
Mr. Senthilbalaji, who first became a Minister in the AIADMK government in 2015, said neither he nor his family members had purchased even a square foot of land since 2006, but had sold his property once. He said the properties he had were “enough”.
Maintaining that such searches were not new to him, the Minister recalled the inquiries made a few days before the Assembly election. To a question on the resistance put up by some individuals to the searches, Mr. Senthilbalaji said he made a phone call, requesting them to disperse, and they did.
Asked about the manner in which I-T officials entered the premises, Mr. Senthilbalaji said he had a video that showed the officials scaled the walls and the gate to enter a house. People in the house were asleep as it was early in the morning, and instead of waiting for 5-10 minutes after ringing the doorbell, the officials scaled the wall to enter the house. Those in the house would submit any document sought and were prepared to extend full cooperation. Referring to the claims in the social media about a property linked to him, Mr. Senthilbalaji said the house was in the name of his sister-in-law, after her mother gifted properties to her.