Just hours after Congress treasurer Ajay Maken claimed that the Income Tax department had frozen the accounts of the Congress party, the tax tribunal said that the frozen accounts are operational and that the party can access the bank accounts.
Cong treasurer Ajay Maken's Claim
Holding a press conference earlier today in Delhi party treasurer Ajay Maken stated that "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..."
"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 seized. Income tax asked for Rs 210 crore recovery from Youth Congress and Congress party. The crowdfunding money in our accounts has been frozen. Just two weeks before elections, when the Opposition's accounts are frozen, it is equivalent to freezing the democracy," Maken said.
According to media reports, the Congress party learned about the freezing of the accounts yesterday. The party's lawyer Vivek Tankha said that in total four accounts have been affected. Banks have also been instructed that they should not be accepting Congress' cheques, with the frozen accounts as they are to be submitted to the IT department.
Congress questions timing of freezing accounts
The Congress leader claimed that timing of the freeze, coming just ahead of the crucial general elections, raises suspicions about the motives behind the Income Tax department's actions
Supreme Court Strikes Down Electoral Bond Scheme
After the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment, striking the electoral bonds scheme, the Congress party faced another setback with the freezing of its accounts. The electoral bonds scheme, initiated by the government in 2018 to replace cash donations and supporting transparency in political funding, was struck down by the apex court.
