Commenting on the recent Income Tax raids on his premises, in which crores of rupees were unearthed, Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu for the first time responded, saying that the money has nothing to do with the grand old party or any political party.

“In the last 30-35 years of my political career, this is the first time that this kind of incident has taken place, due to which I am hurt. What is happening today makes me sad. I can admit that the money that has been recovered belongs to my firm. The cash that has been recovered is related to my liquor firms; it is the proceeds from the sale of liquor,” Sahu told ANI on Friday.

“My elder brother has been in politics and we have done a lot of development work. My father used to help the poor and we have opened many colleges and schools. I have a liquor business, which is run by my family and relatives,” he said.

He further said that his firm has been in business for over 100 years.

“You may also know that transactions in liquor business are done in cash only. My firm has been in business for over 100 years. The money that has been seized belongs to him,” he added.

Sahu further asserted that the money that had been recovered from his premises had nothing to do with Congress or any other political party.

“This money has nothing to do with Congress or any other political party as is being said…The money is not all mine, it belongs to my family and other related firms…I-T has raided now, I will give account for everything,” he added.

When asked about the BJP’s allegation of the cash being black money, Sahu said that let the Income Tax Department decide whether it is ‘Kaala Dhan’ or ‘Safed Dhan’.

“I have already said that the money is from the business firms of my family…Let the side of the Income Tax Department come whether it is ‘Kaala Dhan’ or ‘Safed Dhan’. I am not in the business line. The members of my family will answer this,” he said.

“I don’t know how people are viewing this but I can confidently say that this money has nothing to do with Congress or any other political party,” he added.

Income tax officials last week concluded an IT raid at Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu’s premises in Odisha’s Balangir. The Income Tax Department has, so far, netted Rs 351 crore in cash during its searches at Boudh Distillery Private Limited, a company based in Odisha. The company is allegedly linked to Dhiraj Sahu.

The Congress, meanwhile, has distanced itself from the mega cash haul from the MP’s home claiming that only Sahu can explain money recovered from the premises linked to him.