The Youth Congress acknowledged on Friday that the alleged freezing of financial institution accounts belonging to the Congress and its youth wing, simply earlier than the Lok Sabha polls, is an obvious try and deliver a couple of “one-party system” within the nation.
Addressing the Youth Congress’s protest rally, social gathering nationwide president BV Srinivas known as it an “assault on democracy”, stating that the financial institution accounts had been frozen. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ‘crippling’ the Congress.
On February 16, the primary bank accounts of the Congress were briefly frozen in reference to an alleged tax evasion case. Though the Revenue Tax Appellate Tribunal later allowed them to function financial institution accounts pending additional hearings, Congress leaders have maintained that their accounts are nonetheless beneath restriction.
“Democracy has fully resulted in India. The Modi authorities has destroyed democracy by locking the financial institution accounts of the nation’s largest opposition social gathering, Congress, simply earlier than the Lok Sabha elections,” Srinivas mentioned.
He additional alleged that the central authorities and the Prime Minister are ‘livid’ after the Supreme Court docket canceled the electoral bonds, and likewise alleged that the financial institution accounts of the nation’s essential opposition social gathering Congress and the Youth Congress had been sealed simply earlier than the elections as a result of this cause.
“First, the Prime Minister despatched ED, IT, and CBI after the opposition leaders, arrested many, broke the political events, and now the financial institution accounts of the Congress Occasion and the Indian Youth Congress have been frozen simply earlier than the elections; that is an assault on democracy. If it’s not an assault, then what’s it?” he mentioned through the protest march, which passed off close to the social gathering headquarters within the nationwide capital.
He additional acknowledged, “We have now cash raised by staff by means of on-line donations in our accounts. How can the Modi authorities freeze it? It’s clear from this step that there is no such thing as a democracy in our nation anymore. Plainly an try is being made to deliver a ‘one-party system’ within the nation”.
On Thursday, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi additionally acknowledged that the freezing of Congress’s bank accounts has affected the functioning of the social gathering. He mentioned the Congress can’t perform marketing campaign work and even purchase as a lot as a railway ticket to ship their leaders from one a part of the nation to a different.
“All our financial institution accounts have been frozen. We will do no marketing campaign work, we can’t assist our staff, we can’t assist our candidates. This has been achieved two months earlier than the election marketing campaign. Our skill to battle elections has been broken; now we have already misplaced a month,” he mentioned on the press convention.
Nevertheless, the BJP has rejected these fees as “false allegations,” stating that the Revenue Tax actions had been taken as per regulation.