India’s main opposition group, the Congress party, says the government has stopped them from using their bank accounts before the upcoming elections.
The party mentioned that the IT officials allowed them to use the money in the accounts until the court makes a decision.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that stopping the funds is like attacking democracy.
The government or the IT department have not replied to the accusations.
Ajay Maken, a leader of Congress, said on Friday that the party found out two days ago that the checks it was giving out were not being accepted by banks.
Upon checking, the party was informed that “all their accounts had been stopped from being used”.
Mr Maken said that the party got money from online fundraising, and the youth wing got money from membership fees. He said that the bank stopped the accounts of the young members of the Indian Youth Congress.
Mr Maken said we don’t have money to pay for electricity or salaries for our workers. This will affect all the activities of our party.
He said they took action because the party filed their income tax returns 45 days late for 2018-2019.
The IT department wants Congress to pay 2. 1 billion rupees as a “recovery” amount.
Vivek Tankha, a leader of the Congress party, said that the court will listen to the party’s request for temporary help from the actions of the IT department on Wednesday.
Critics say that the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, is using government resources to go after opposition leaders before the elections. Modi and the BJP say the accusation is not true.