The issuance of notices to senior Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer Ahmed Patel by the Income Tax department recently in connection with alleged transfer of Rs 400 crore to the party from Andhra Pradesh has created ripples in the political circles.
The I-T department authorities served notices on him to appear before the officials for questioning in this regard.
Initially, he was asked to appear on February 14 and when he did not respond, the department extended the deadline to February 18.
However, Patel got admitted to Metro Hospital at Faridabad on Tuesday morning, complaining of breathing problems.
He passed on the information to the I-T authorities along with hospital records, stating that he needed some more time.
It may be mentioned that the I-T department which conducted searches on several prominent people and a big infrastructure company in Hyderabad, had found certain documents which revealed transfer of Rs 400 crore from Andhra to the Congress party through hawala route.
Apparently, the construction company had got major contract in AP during the Telugu Desam Party regime. This money was transferred through the TDP leaders to a senior Congress leader in Bengaluru, who in turn routed it to the AICC.
Now, the I-T department is suspecting that the transfer of money was linked to TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.
Some of the documents seized from the residence of Naidu’s former personal secretary P Srinivasa Rao also disclosed these transactions, sources said, adding that if Ahmed Patel makes any disclosures during the interrogation, it would definitely create troubles for the TDP chief and others.