In the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government in the wake of the freezing of the party's bank accounts.
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that money from the party's accounts was being "taken away forcibly" and added that there is a "systematic effort underway by the prime minister to cripple Congress financially."
In a press conference also addressed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the party stressed that all its accounts were frozen.
"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 the party's accounts due to an income tax return issue.
Sonia called the issue "extremely serious" and added that the "issue affects not just Congress but our democracy."
The former Congress chief also highlighted the dichotomy between the controversy surrounding electoral bonds and the assault on the finances of the principal opposition party.
"On one hand, there is the electoral bond issue, which has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Electoral bonds benefit the BJP hugely. On the other hand, the finances of the principal opposition party, the India National Congress, are under a determined assault," Sonia said.
"This, we all believe, is unprecedented and undemocratic," the former AICC chief added.
'Freezing of Indian democracy'
Amidst the unfolding drama, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi characterised the freezing of the party's bank accounts as the "freezing of Indian democracy" and denounced it as a "criminal action" initiated by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Rahul added that the party's ability to fight elections has been damaged and that they are unable to do campaign work following the freezing of funds. "All our accounts are frozen; we can do no campaign work... Our ability to fight elections has been damaged," he remarked.
Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the action on the accounts of the Congress party meant there was no level playing field in the Lok Sabha polls
"The Supreme Court called electoral bonds illegal and unconstitutional. Under that scheme, the present ruling party filled its accounts with thousands and crores of rupees. On the other hand, under a conspiracy, the bank account of the main opposition party has been frozen. So that, in the absence of funds, there is no level-playing field in contesting the elections," Kharge said.
"This is a dangerous game by the ruling party, which will have a far-reaching impact. If democracy in this country has to be saved, there has to be a level playing field," he added.
Kharge emphasised that it is essential for a democracy that elections are conducted in an impartial manner and appealed to constitutional bodies to allow access to the party's back accounts if they want free and fair elections.
On March 8, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had rejected the Congress' plea to stay action against its bank accounts and the imposition of penalties for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years. Following the decision, the party moved the Delhi High Court to challenge the ITAT's dismissal.
On February 21, the Congress had accused the Income Tax Department of "withdrawing" Rs 65 crore from its accounts in different banks "undemocratically" even when the case pertaining to their return for previous years had been sub judice.
This comes after the Congress party had said that its main bank accounts had been frozen on February 15 over an income tax demand of Rs 210 crore, with Kharge calling the move a "deep assault on India's democracy."
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)