India’s main opposition party says tax authorities have frozen its funds.

India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, said Friday that its bank accounts had been frozen by federal tax authorities, just weeks before an expected nationwide election. Authorities later temporarily restored access to the accounts, the party said, but not before the move drew widespread criticism from the Congress and its allies, who accused the government of conducting an attack on democracy. Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken told a news conference the accounts had been frozen after an investigation of the party’s income tax returns for the 2018-19 financial year. He added that the Income Tax Department had issued a payment demand for 2.1 billion rupees ($25.3 million) in connection to the ongoing probe. “The Congress party’s bank accounts haven’t been frozen. It’s the democracy that has been frozen,” Maken said. “Will there be only a one party system in this country?” Later on Friday, an income tex tribunal granted the party temporary access to its accounts ahead of a hearing Wednesday, lawyer and Congress lawmaker Vivek Tankha confirmed to CNN. CNN has reached out to India’s Income Tax Department and Finance Ministry, and multiple leaders within the Congress party for further comment. On Friday, Congress supporters gathered in Delhi’s iconic Jantar Mantar area to protest the action, as party chief Mallikarjun Kharge called on the judiciary to “save the multi-party system in this country and protect India’s Democracy.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/16/india/india-congress-bank-accounts-tax-frozen-intl-hnk/index.html

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