'Tax terrorist' govt ignoring flouting of norms by BJP: Congress

NEW DELHI: Announcing that it has been slapped with a fresh income tax demand of Rs 1,823 crore, Congress said Modi govt is subjecting it to 'tax terrorism' for minor violations of small amounts and filing formalities to cripple it financially during the Lok Sabha elections, while it has turned a blind eye to identical violations on a large scale by BJP.
AICC treasurer Ajay Maken told a press conference Congress is being made liable for tax on the basis of entries in some 'challaned diaries' allegedly found from Kamal Nath and D K Shivakumar, but govt has not acted on 'Birla-Sahara dairies' which list PM Modi as a purported beneficiary or on 'Yediyurappa diaries' which has names of senior BJP leaders. Dubbing them as "manufactured and planted diaries" through "so-called raids" by "BJP's frontal organisation I-T on third parties", he said many of these parties have got stay orders from courts on account of I-T's vitiated search procedures.
Why is EC mute spectator to BJP bid to cripple opposition: Congress
AICC treasurer Ajay Maken Friday said apart from Congress, two other INDIA bloc parties have received I-T notices, and the parties will forge a common strategy to fight BJP's tax onslaught.
Maken revealed that Congress was served a fresh tax demand of Rs 1,823 crore on Thursday. He said Rs 54 crore penalty is for 1993, Rs 182 crore for 2016, Rs 179 crore for 2017, Rs 918 crore for 2018 and Rs 490 crore for 2019. He said govt has already snatched Congress' Rs 153 crore over 2017-18 filing of Rs 14 lakh contributed by party's own MLAs and MPs.
Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Why is I-T department being allowed to be used as a weapon to harass Congress?"
Maken said Congress analysed BJP's filings to Election Commission for 2017-18, and found it has violated multiple times the prescribed filing format under Representation of People's Act, with 1,297 donations totalling to Rs 42 crore listed without name or address. "I-T froze Congress accounts for deposits of Rs 14 lakh by its own MPs and MLAs, but it has remained blind to BJP's Rs 42 crore. If we use the same parameters used by I-T department to impose penalty and tax demand on Congress, BJP should face a demand of Rs 4,600 crore," he said, adding that he will soon move a PIL in court to demand that BJP be asked to pay Rs 4,600 crore.
He warned of "threat to democracy", as entries as old as 1993 dating back to AICC tenure of late Sitaram Kesri, and those which go back seven years are being used for "tax terror" against Congress during elections.
Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh said on the one hand, BJP has indulged in "electoral bonds scam" to collect Rs 8,200 crore through "prepaid, postpaid and post-raid bribes and shell companies", it is also engaged in "tax terrorism" to incapacitate opposition parties like Congress before elections.
Maken asked why is Congress, a tax-exempt political party like others, being 'forced' to pay income tax during 2024 elections.

"Why is EC a mute spectator? Is this not a brazen attempt by BJP to illegally financially cripple opposition? Can 2024 be called a free-and-fair election anymore?" he asked.