In a significant turn of events, Congress leader Ajay Maken revealed on Friday that the party’s bank accounts had been frozen by BJP using Income Tax authorities. This development comes just a day after the Supreme Court declared electoral bonds as ‘unconstitutional,’ a ruling expected to impact the BJP and other parties’ fundraising activities.
Congress’ Revelation of Frozen Bank Accounts
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken expressed concern over the freezing of accounts, stating via ANI:
“We received information yesterday that banks are refusing to honor the cheques we are issuing. Upon further investigation, we discovered that the bank accounts of both the Youth Congress and the Congress party have been frozen. The Income Tax Department has demanded a recovery of Rs 210 crore from the Youth Congress and the Congress party. The funds collected through crowdfunding in our accounts have also been frozen. Just two weeks before the elections, this action is akin to stifling democracy.”
#WATCH | Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken says "We got information yesterday that banks are not honouring the cheque we are issuing. On further investigation, we got to know that the Youth Congress bank accounts have been frozen. The accounts of the Congress party have also been… pic.twitter.com/JsZL1FEy9d
— ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024
The freezing of accounts has created a sense of alarm within the Congress party, with Maken highlighting the impact on their financial operations. “Democracy is under attack. He asserted that our party’s bank accounts were frozen right before the Lok Sabha elections,” he asserted.
Maken added that Rahul Gandhi’s ”Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra” would also take a hit after the BJP froze their bank accounts. He added:
“Right now we don’t have any money to spend, to pay electricity bills, to pay salaries to our employees. Everything will be impacted, not only Nyay Yatra but all political activities will be impacted…”
The shocking revelation follows the Supreme Court’s decision on February 15 to scrap the Electoral Bond Scheme, which permitted anonymous funding to political parties. The apex court, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, pronounced the judgment, citing violations of the right to information (RTI) and the potential for quid pro quo.
After reserving its decision on November 2, 2023, the Constitution bench declared the Electoral Bond Scheme unconstitutional, emphasizing the need to reduce the cash component in the electoral process. Despite earlier declines to stay the scheme in April 2019, the Supreme Court commenced hearings in October 2023.
