Lucknow, February 25 The Income Tax Department conducted searches at the residences of Uma Shankar Singh, a lone MLA of the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, in Lucknow and Ballia on Wednesday, an official said.
The officials did not disclose the reasons for the searches or their outcome until Wednesday afternoon.
Singh, 55, who has been an MLA for three terms, represents the Rasra Assembly constituency in Ballia district. He was previously involved in private construction business activities.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Singh, a BJP leader and minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, who is related to the BSP legislator, objected to the action through posts on social media.
"Today, the Income Tax Department is conducting a raid at the house of Shri Uma Shankar Singh, MLA from Rasra in Ballia district, whose family is related to mine through marriage," he posted on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
He said that leaders in the state and the country, as well as authorities, including the Income Tax Department, were aware that the MLA has been battling serious health issues for over two years.
"For more than two years, he has been struggling between life and death. In the present circumstances, all his time and money are being spent not on earning but on saving his life. Almost all his businesses have come to a standstill," Singh said.
The minister said that the BSP MLA is currently in isolation at his residence and has been unable to attend the Assembly session. "The Assembly session is important for an MLA, but he has not been able to attend even for an hour," he said.
Alleging that even medical staff were not being allowed access during the searches, Singh said, "At this time, even a nurse or doctor is not being permitted to visit his house. If any harm comes to his life, these insensitive institutions will be responsible."
He said that even courts grant relief on compassionate grounds in the rarest of rare cases and questioned whether the action was driven by "political vendetta".
"May God grant wisdom to such people and institutions," he added.