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‘BJP wants to finish off competition’: Priyanka Gandhi on Income Tax department move against Congress
The Income Tax department deducted more than ₹65 crore from bank accounts linked to the grand old party.
Reacting to the Income Tax department's move to deduct ₹65 crore from the Congress' accounts, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday alleged that the ruling BJP was getting this done so that there is no competition in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May.
Also Read | 'Does BJP pay?': Income Tax department deducts ₹65 crore from Congress accounts
“The BJP government first made ED, IT, and CBI go after opposition parties and their leaders. It toppled governments using money power. It broke parties, bought leaders, and made every attempt to eliminate the opposition. Now, they are stooping to the extent of trying to weaken the biggest opposition party by withdrawing money from its bank account so that no one remains in front in the elections,” Gandhi Vadra wrote in Hindi in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Mr. Prime Minister, you can try all you want to eliminate democracy from the country, but you should know that its democracy is protected by 140 crore Indians. They will save our democracy. Jai Hind!,” the Congress general secretary added.
On Wednesday, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said that on the previous day, the IT department mandated banks to transfer more than ₹65 crore from various accounts linked to the party to the Union government, where the BJP is in power.
Also Read | Income tax row: Congress claims BJP stealing money ‘from our banks’
Claiming that political parties in the country don't pay direct tax, Maken wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that while neither the BJP nor the Congress pay tax, the latter is still facing ₹210 crore tax demand.
"This situation raises a crucial question about the state of democracy. Is it under threat? Our hope now lies with the judiciary," the ex-Union minister added.
