‘This is a deep assault on India's Democracy’: Congress leaders criticise Modi govt as I-T unfreezes bank accounts

The Congress party has confirmed that its bank accounts, which were recently frozen following allegations of financial misdemeanors, have now been 'unfrozen'. This reinstatement follows a massive Income Tax (I-T) action against the party. The Congress's top leaders have since launched a vitriolic attack against the Modi government, accusing it of misusing central agencies to target opposition parties.

The I-T department had previously alleged that the party's auditors had mishandled funds and accused the party of multiple taxation offences. This prompted the freezing of bank accounts. However, after a severe backlash and claims of political victimization from the Congress, the freeze was withdrawn.

The whole incident has since sparked heated debates across the political spectrum. Congress leaders unleashed a fierce attack on the Modi government, claiming this as another undemocratic move to undermine the opposition. Given the timing of the sudden I-T crackdown, many in the opposition camp viewed it as a politically motivated move, especially as it happened in the crucial months leading up to crucial state elections.

While reacting to the development, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said wrote on X, "Power drunk Modi Government 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 added. "That is why, I have said that there won't be any elections in the future. We appeal to the Judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect India's Democracy," the Congress president said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called the freezing of accounts  as “shocking & utterly shameful”. According to Sachin Pilot, the blocking of Congress' bank accounts "is a clear misuse of power."

“The Congress party has always upheld its governing principles and maintained transparency in the money raised through various channels and campaigns. Never in the history of political discourse has such a blatant act of political vendetta been unleashed on other opposition party. It is the BJP which has hoarded 90% of money raised through electoral bonds, which was declared unconstitutional by the Hon’ble Supreme Court yesterday. The timing of all these actions is questionable and the motive is clearly deliberate. The BJP has left no stone unturned to stifle opposition voices and has set a dangerous precedent for targeting opponents and undermining democratic processes,” Sachin Pilot wrote on X (formally Twitter).

The leaders felt the relief granted after the I-T action seemed more of a face-saving exercise for the government.

Congress has consistently accused the BJP-led government of employing pressure tactics to curb the dissenting voices and weaken the opposition. The unfreezing of its accounts is viewed as a moral victory for the party in its fight against what it perceives as political vendetta.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Centre's electoral bonds programme for anonymous political financing was "unconstitutional" and ordered that the bond's donors, value, and recipients be disclosed by March 13.

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