Congress' 'shops of corruption' should be shut, strict action underway: Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi: Hitting out at the INDIA bloc, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said the Modi government's resolve to continue tough action against corruption with renewed vigour is the only reason for opposition leaders to unite and step up their attack on central probe agencies.

Addressing a press conference, Rijiju and BJP leaders Sangita Singhdeo, Rameshwar Teli and Nisith Pramanik said the haul of Rs 351 crore from premises linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu was not a one-off.

There are cases against leaders of opposition parties, including those from Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Delhi, they added.

"The very many 'shops of corruption' opened by the Congress should be shut down. Strict action is being taken," Rijiju told reporters here.

"It would not be wrong to say that the coming together of the INDI Alliance has nothing to do with democracy but it's a union of corrupt people for the betterment of the corrupt by the corrupt people," he added.

He said till now, more than Rs 351 crore has been unearthed from a member of the Congress in Jharkhand.

"The Congress should be called the corruption party because the Congress is the root of corruption," Rijiju said.

The cash seizure in the Income Tax department's searches against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited owned by the family of Sahu -- the Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand -- has been calculated at Rs 351 crore and is the "highest-ever" haul in a single action by any probe agency in the country, official sources said on Sunday.

Rijiju further said Rs 42 crore was recovered from the relative of a Congress leader in Bengaluru; in West Bengal, several ministers in the Mamata Banerjee government are involved in corruption; in Tamil Nadu, Senthil Balaji, a minister, is in jail and the party that calls itself "staunchly honest (kattar imandar)" has found several of its leaders in jail.

Rijiju said Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave several guarantees to the people -- to make India a developed nation by 2047, make it the third largest economy in the world, and ensure that government benefits reach the public.

"Another guarantee was action against every corrupt persons. That is why you must have seen Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his friends hate Modi a lot. The anger is because of the strong action against corruption," he said.

Rijiju said corruption increased during the Congress regimes because the party believes in the principle of perpetuating corrupt practices.

"Congress leaders indulge in corrupt practices and also encourage others to do so. It is their policy … to loot and let others loot," the senior BJP leader said.

Rijiju said voters rejected the Congress in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan after several of their scams came to light.