Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress on Thursday said that they are not being able to book advertisements or pay Rs 2 for anything as it targeted the Centre on the matter of its funds being frrezed by the income tax department, alleging that this has just not impacted their party but democracy in India.
Congress patriarch Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a presser in Delhi on the issue of its funds being frozen by the income tax department and said that it has impacted their election campaign.
"...We can do no campaign work... Our ability to fight elections has been damaged," former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said while launching a scathing attack on the government over the issue of freezing of the party's accounts due to an Income Tax returns issue.
What are the five big charges by Congress against Centre?
- Rahul Gandhi termed the freezing of his party's accounts a criminal action by the prime minister and home minister adding, "there is no democracy in India today and the idea that India is the world’s largest democracy is a complete lie. There are institutions that are supposed to protect the democratic framework but nothing is happening."
- Sonia Gandhi, who also attended the press conference, termed it a "very, very serious" issue and said it has affected not just the Congress but "impacts our democracy itself most fundamentally. A systematic effort is underway by the prime minister to cripple the Indian National Congress financially."
- Funds collected from the public are being frozen, and money from our accounts is being taken away forcibly, said Sonia Gandhi while accusing the government.
- On the one hand, there is the electoral bond issue, which has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The electoral bonds have benefitted the BJP hugely. On the other hand, the finances of the principal opposition party, the INC, are under a determined assault. This is truly unprecedented, Sonia Gandhi added.
- Mallikarjun Kharge said that the party in power amassed funds through electoral bonds while freezing the Congress' accounts to create hurdles for it in fighting polls. "Those in power should not have direct or indirect control over constitutional bodies," he said, adding that those in power should not have monopoly over resources.
Sonia Gandhi further said that even under these most challenging circumstances, they are doing best to maintain the effectiveness of our election campaign.
Kharge appealed to constitutional bodies to allow the Congress to access bank accounts if they want free and fair polls and added that holding fair polls is essential.
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