Why are raids being conducted only on TDP leaders, says Guntur MP Jayadev Galla

New Delhi, Arp 10: Telegu Desam Party (TDP) said late on Tuesday night that the Income Tax department has raided the residence of party leader and MP from Guntur Galla Jaydev.

A team of officers raided the residence and offices of Galla, who is also the owner of Amaron Batteries. Enraged over the sudden searches, the TDP leader along with his colleagues staged a dharna in Guntur's Pattabhipuram.

Lanka Dinakaran, TDP spokesperson, said that the I-T department had conducted a raid at Jaydev's residence, forcing the MP and fellow party leaders to stage a dharna against it.

Guntur MP Jayadev Galla, the lawmaker who had moved the no-confidence motion against PM Modi-led government last year, said,''Our person has been detained and we don't know his whereabouts, I'm demanding an explanation. Why are we being targeted, why are raids being conducted only on TDP leaders, if EC & agencies are working impartially it should be happening to all parties.''

Galla was the richest candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and has been the face of TDP's attack against NDA over the issue of special status for Andhra Pradesh.

The development comes even as the Opposition has been crying "political vendetta" ever since the searches began in West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

Two days ago, the Election Commission had issued a notification, asking agencies to be neutral while conducting searches, and asked them to inform the poll panel about any such move well in advance.