Income Tax Department Recovers Rs 65 Cr From Congress Account; Maken Slams Undemocratic Move

The Congress alleged on Wednesday that the Income Tax Department ordered Rs 65 crore to be withdrawn from its bank accounts “undemocratically” even though proceedings are underway before an appellate authority, PTI reported.

The tax department ordered banks to transfer Rs 60.25 crore from the Congress’ bank accounts and Rs 5 crore from the accounts of the Indian Youth Congress and National Students’ Union of India to the government, the Congress said. The National Students’ Union of India is the Congress’ student wing.

On February 16, the Congress announced that its bank accounts had been frozen on “flimsy grounds” and that the action had hampered all the party’s political activities. Later in the day, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal allowed the Congress to operate its bank accounts but ordered it to maintain Rs 115 crore as lien, effectively freezing these funds.