Last Updated on March 21, 2024 5: 38pm
NEW DELHI: In a startling accusation, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken, denounced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for what he described as looting of donations meant for the Congress party.
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Ajay Maken has levelled serious accusations against the BJP, alleging that it unlawfully seized funds allocated for the Congress party by freezing its accounts and withdrawing a significant sum of 115.32 crores from them.
The senior Congress leader said that “this action, combined with the freezing of the Congress party’s 11 bank accounts, raises pertinent questions about the BJP’s motives, especially considering that no political party, including the BJP, is obliged to pay income tax”.
“Of particular concern is the fact that the Congress party’s accounts were frozen based on a notice for the financial year 2017-18, citing a negligible 0.07% cash component in donations received,” said Maken.
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Earlier, accusing the ruling BJP of unfair practices, the Congress party, on Thursday (March 21), called for a level playing field in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Briefing the media, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed concern over the BJP’s decision to freeze its bank accounts, causing significant hindrances to the party’s election campaigning.
Kharge further appealed to constitutional bodies, urging them to restore access to Congress’ bank accounts.
“We appeal to constitutional bodies to allow our party access to bank accounts if they truly desire free and fair polls,” stated the Congress chief.
Kharge highlighted that the BJP has amassed substantial funds through electoral bonds while simultaneously attempting to stifle opposition voices.
“The ruling party has garnered significant financial resources via electoral bonds while obstructing our ability to contest elections by freezing our accounts,” Kharge stated.
Sonia Gandhi, a prominent Congress leader, accused the BJP of forcibly seizing funds from Congress’ bank accounts.
She asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is orchestrating a systematic campaign to financially incapacitate the Congress.
Gandhi underscored the seriousness of the issue, stating that the freezing of accounts poses a significant threat to Indian democracy as a whole.