Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken on Friday, 16 February, said that all the bank accounts of the Congress party, including that of the Youth Congress have been frozen by the Income Tax department. Maken said the action is on account of a 45-day delay in filing the IT-returns for the financial year 2018-19. Maken made this revelation at a press conference, where he also said that the IT department has imposed a penalty of Rs 210 crore on the party for the delayed filing of the 2018-19 financial year’s tax returns.
“Congress party’s accounts have been frozen. Democracy has been frozen,” he said.
Hours after the press conference, Congress leader and lawyer Vivek Tankha appeared before the Income Tax Appellate Authority (ITAT) in Delhi, where he told the authorities that "the Congress won't be able to participate in the festival of elections" without funds. "Very graciously the ITAT has said that there will only be a lien on the bank account, there is no restriction on the bank account, we can operate it." Tankha will appear in front of the ITAT again on Wednesday to argue on the merits of the case.
This comes just months before the Lok Sabha polls, expected to take place in April. The dates of the polls are supposed to be announced in another week or so.