New Delhi, Feb 22 (UNI) The Indian National Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government of "stealing its money from the banks" and imposing "financial terrorism" against the grand old party.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, party General Secretary K C Venugopal, along with General Secretary Communication Jairam Ramesh and Treasurer Ajay Maken, said, "The BJP government has unleashed financial terrorism against all the opposition parties, especially the Congress. The BJP is trying to handicap the principle opposition party by stealing its money from the banks, and it is not an attack on the Congress but on democracy."
He said, "According to the latest information from banks, the BJP has forced the banks to transfer the party's deposit of Rs 65.88 crore to the government accounts."
"We got the money through crowd funding, unlike the BJP. The money is from the ordinary party workers, IYC and NSUI. What is the BJP doing? It is stealing our money," Venugopal said.
Calling it a ploy by the BJP government to stop the Congress, which has been getting stronger due to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the Congress leader said, "Just before the Parliament elections, the accounts of the principle opposition party, which is a law-abiding party, are being hijacked by the BJP."
Venugopal said that in the history of India, where the Congress too has ruled for many years, such incidents have not happened. Adding to that, this was an attempt to shut the voice of the opposition.
He also asked the BJP whether, the party had paid Income Tax? And if not, then why is tax being collected from Congress?
"We have gone to the tribunal. We are taking legal action, and we will also go to the people and expose the dictatorship attitude of the BJP," the party general secretary said.
Meanwhile, Ajay Maken, while accusing the BJP government and Income Tax officials of stealing Rs 65.8 crore from Congress' accounts, said that the party has filed an application in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. But a day before the hearing, Income Tax officials went to the bank branches and collected Rs 65,8 crore through demand draft by threatening.
He said political parties are exempt from Income tax as the money that comes to the party is to keep democracy alive in the country and is not any kind of income.
He said the penalty imposed by the Income Tax Department was an attempt to break the Congress party financially so that "we are not able to contest elections".
Jairam Ramesh said that the objective of the Modi government was to weaken the Congress party financially so that they would not be able to contest the election.
UNI RBE ARN