Bihar Cong stages protest over freezing of party’s bank accounts by I-T dept

Patna, Feb 19 (PTI) Congress workers in Bihar on Monday staged a protest here against freezing of the party’s bank accounts by the Income Tax Department, a move they blamed on the ruling BJP at the Centre.

Congress activists led by legislature party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan held the demonstration at the Income Tax roundabout in the city, carrying placards and raising slogans against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Khan alleged that the BJP is “trying to squeeze the finances of opponents while ensuring that its own coffers overflowed, thanks to opaque things like electoral bonds”.

Notably, electoral bonds, through which a lion’s share of funds is said to have gone to the BJP, were struck down by the Supreme Court last week.

Khan also asked, “Why is it that only our accounts are being examined and no questions are being posed to the BJP, which has spent crores in the last five years on setting up offices in districts across the country? Its new headquarters in Delhi is also said to have cost an astronomical sum.”

The Congress leader also alleged that this is the “latest in a series of repressive measures taken against the opposition under a regime that has already gained notoriety for the misuse of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation”.

“But we are not going to be scared. Our party is more than 100 years old and played the foremost role in the freedom struggle. We are now committed to the fight for saving democracy,” he added.