The Congress has raised alarm after its bank accounts were reportedly frozen by the Income Tax (IT) department, just months before the upcoming general elections.
Additionally, the Congress has reportedly been slapped with a demand for payment of Rs 2.1 billion as a “recovery” amount.
The party’s leadership denounced the move as an “assault on democracy”, sparking concerns about the impact on its electoral activities.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the freezing of funds, characterising it as an attack on democratic principles.
“Power drunk Modi Govt has frozen the accounts of the country’s largest Opposition party – the Indian National Congress – just before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a deep assault on India’s Democracy !” he wrote on a social media website.
The government and the IT department have yet to respond to the allegations, leaving the party and its supporters in a state of uncertainty.
According to Congress leader Ajay Maken, the party received notice two days ago that its issued cheques were being rejected by banks.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that all of the party’s accounts, including those of its youth wing, the Indian Youth Congress, had been frozen.
Maken explained that the funds in the party’s accounts were sourced from online crowdfunding, while the youth wing’s accounts were funded by membership fees.
This sudden freeze has left the party struggling to meet essential expenses such as electricity bills and employee salaries, severely hampering its ability to conduct political activities.
The IT department reportedly attributed the freezing of accounts to a 45-day delay in filing income tax returns for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
Congress leader Vivek Tankha announced that the party will appeal for interim relief from the IT department’s action in court, with the hearing scheduled for February 21.
However, critics have raised concerns about the timing of the freeze, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP is leveraging state machinery to target opposition leaders ahead of the elections.
Interestingly, this action occurs shortly after the Supreme Court invalidated the contentious electoral bond scheme, initiated by Prime Minister Modi in 2019. Political analysts speculate it as a retaliatory measure by the government to weaken the principal Opposition.
