Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Thursday challenged the Congress-led government to order Income Tax raids on his homes after having served a notice on his wife, saying the move would benefit him politically and could create uproar in and outside Parliament.
In a clear threat to the ruling United Progressive Alliance, Singh said he would be unable to restrain hundreds of his supporters from accompanying him to the IT office in New Delhi if he too, like his wife Pankaja Kumari Singh, was asked to provide his wealth details in person.
"I invite the IT officials to raid my homes. It would benefit me politically as it has in the past when Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati ordered raids against us (Samajwadi Party leaders) while she was in power," Singh told a news conference in New Delhi.
He also spoke about a possible uproar in Parliament by his party and Telugu Desam Party parliamentarians in the event of income tax authorities moving ahead against him.
He, however, denied his party's role in protests against IT authorities over its notices to film star Amitabh Bachchan. But he challenged the Congress to prove its reported charges that SP parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan's Rs 232-crore wealth, which she has declared in her nomination for Rajya Sabha membership, was illegal.
"The ball is the court of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Ashok Gehlot and Jayanti Natarajan. You have started all this and you should be prepared to face the consequences," the SP leader said.
Asked about the IT notice to his wife seeking details of assets acquired over the past five years, Singh said she had given a 'point-by-point' reply to it. He, however, said the notice was issued to her almost a month ago.