Hyderabad: After Telangana, it is the turn of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to witness income tax department raids against companies of ruling party leaders.

Teams of tax officials have carried out raids at 28 places in Vijayawada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad targeting various companies including Southern Construction, V.S. Logistics, Swagruha, Southern Granites and Tropical Foods of different leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Tax officials carried raids on the Southern Granites company owned by B. Mastan Rao, former TDP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Kavali in Nellore district.

They also raided and searched the offices of Tropical Foods, a company owned by TDP legislator from Kandukur P. Rama Rao and his family.

Sources said the raids began on Thursday and continued on Friday, amid investigations into alleged money laundering and other irregularities.

There were also reports of similar raids against the famous Narayana Group of Educational Institutions run by the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P. Narayana.

A team of IT officials had gone to the Narayana Group head office in Vijayawada but, after spotting journalists at the premises, they went back.

When some journalists followed the IT officials’ vehicles, they asked them not to pursue them and assured that the media would be officially briefed.

As the reports created ripples across the state Chief Minister N .Chandrababu Naidu on Friday held urgent consultations with his cabinet colleagues.

According to the sources the chief minister alleged that the Centre was using official machinery including IT department to harass and pressurise the TDP leaders and asked the ministers to face the situation boldly and calmly.

It has become a habit for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate against his opponents but the TDP will foil this conspiracy of the BJP, Naidu told the ministers.

This has come close on the heels of the IT department officials carrying out a raid against senior Congress leader A. Revanth Reddy, his family members and associates.

Revanth Reddy was earlier in the Telugu Desam Party and now holds the position of working president of the Telangana State Congress committee.

Later Revanth Reddy was summoned to tax department’s offices in Hyderabad and was questioned regarding the “Note for Vote” scandal, which took place when Revanth Reddy was in the TDP.

Both Revanth Reddy and N. Chandrababu Naidu were among the accused in the 2015 case.

Revanth Reddy was caught red-handed as he was paying Rs5 million (Dh248,114) to a nominated MLA in Telangana, Elvis Stephenson, to vote for a TDP candidate in the Telangana Legislative Council poll.

He had also promised to pay another Rs45 million to the legislator.

During questioning the IT department officials wanted to know the source of money that he offered to the MLA.

Chandrababu Naidu strongly condemned the IT raids against Revanth Reddy, describing them as a vindictive measure.

The raids have come at a time when the Telugu Desam Party and Congress had joined hands to from a grand opposition alliance in Telangana to take on the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti in the coming assembly elections.