The Congress party, which has assumed the role of unifier in INDIA Bloc claims it is struggling to launch its poll campaign in the face of IT authorities freezing its bank accounts and imposing ‘disproportionate’ penalties for irregularities in its decades-old tax returns. A report by Mudit Mathur
Leaders of the INDIA bloc, who have decided to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election unitedly against the growing trends of “dictatorship” under the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, are facing a tough challenge after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on charges of money laundering in the now scrapped Delhi liquor policy case. The development has upset the plans of the collective campaign strategy of opposition parties aimed at halting Narendra Modi’s march to regain power for the third time in succession in the 2024 elections. Kejriwal’s arrest has become the rallying point for the opposition’s unity to counter the BJP’s alleged quest for an “opposition-free” India
The poll campaign of the INDIA bloc has yet to take off due to the absence of a level playing field, resulting from a resource crunch and the continuous arm-twisting tactics employed by government investigating agencies. However, prominent BJP leaders have been fast-tracking their electioneering efforts, hosting massive public rallies in various parts of the states, often with great extravagance.
The Congress Party, which assumed the role of unifier in INDIA Bloc to consolidate regional political parties under its umbrella, is now grappling with an acute financial crisis as it prepares to launch its poll campaign. Income Tax authorities have frozen its accounts, allegedly imposing disproportionate penalties after discovering irregularities in its decades-old tax returns.
Subsequently, the IT department is anticipated to raise further demands against the Congress party for alleged unaccounted Rs. 523.87 crores from 2014-2021, traced after it conducted simultaneous raids in 52 locations before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on April 7, 2019, following the directive of Election Commission.
The Congress party in a press conference held by its top leadership including president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi has alleged that democracy in India has been frozen and accused the Modi government of “crippling” the party financially by freezing its bank accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“A systematic effort is underway by the Prime Minister to cripple the Indian National Congress financially,” said Sonia Gandhi. “Funds collected from the public are being frozen, and money from our accounts is being forcibly taken away. However, even under these most challenging circumstances, we are doing our best to maintain the effectiveness of our election campaign,” she added.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s judgment last month declaring electoral bonds “unconstitutional,” the former UPA chairperson said that the electoral bond scheme has “benefited the BJP hugely.” “On the other hand, the finances of the principal opposition party, the Congress, are under a determined assault. This is truly unprecedented and undemocratic,” she said.
Rahul Gandhi, a prominent face of the opposition Congress, told media persons, “All our bank accounts have been frozen. We can do no campaign work. We cannot support our candidates. They cannot fly, forget that, they cannot even purchase a rail ticket. And this has been done before elections.”
“There are institutions in this country that are supposed to protect the democratic framework but nothing is happening. The Election Commission is not saying anything, the courts are not saying anything. Our ability to fight the elections has been damaged,” he added.
“This is a criminal action done by the prime minister and the home minister. The idea that India is a democracy is a lie; it is the world’s largest democracy is a lie. Twenty percent of India votes for us and we are not able to pay Rs 2 for anything. This is being orchestrated to cripple us in the elections. Even if our accounts are unfrozen today, a huge amount of damage has been done,” Rahul alleged.
Most of the potential opposition leaders have allegedly been targeted by the Modi government to discredit them through his extended weaponised arms –– ED, IT, and CBI (Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax, and Central Bureau of Investigation). The ED is the most powerful among the investigation agencies under the control of the Modi government. It has the unbridled powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2005 to search and arrest without a warrant or assigning any reasons. Ever since Modi came to power in 2014, the ED has summoned, questioned, or raided around 150 politicians from the opposition including Congress Party leaders––Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for allegations of money laundering.
During the period of Congress rule from 2005 to 2014 ED carried out 112 searches and filed charges in 104 cases but without any convictions in contrast to Modi rule from 2014-15 to 2021-22 searches jumped to 3,010, charges were filed in 888 cases, and 23 people were convicted. During these raids, many NGOs and Human Rights organisations including Amnesty International halted operations in India whose accounts were frozen by ED.
The party-wise break-up of the Opposition parties in the ED’s net since 2014 includes Congress (24), TMC (19), NCP (11), Shiv Sena (8), DMK (6), BJD (6), RJD (5), BSP (5), SP (5), TDP (5), AAP (3), INLD (3), YSRCP (3), CPM (2), NC (2), PDP (2), Ind (2), AIADMK (1), MNS (1), SBSP (1) BRS (1) and TRS (1).
The ED arrested the chief minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, in a case related to alleged land fraud in January this year. Soren’s party, Jhakhad Mukti Morcha (JMM), is the ally of the Congress. He said hours before the arrest that he was the victim of a political conspiracy. After Soren, the ED arrested Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader K Kavitha of Telangana in Delhi liquor case for money laundering.
The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the latest arrest by the ED in Delhi liquor case after it had arrested his Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the same case. The Delhi High Court refused to grant him interim relief saying it may have the impact of a final relief. The CBI conducted consecutive raids at four of the properties of expelled TMC MP Mahua Moitra on 23rd March after the Lokpal referred cash for query complaints to it.
The whole approach of the BJP appears to entangle the opposition leaders to defend their cases before the courts so that they would not be able to compete with them in the electoral contest of the 2024 Lok Sabha. Many opposition leaders allege that BJP is resorting to vendetta politics to sideline them from the political arena. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP secured 303 seats, improving upon its 2014 tally of 282 seats. The BJP-led NDA won a total of 353 seats, while the Congress was reduced to just 52 seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon its cadres to secure more than 400 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections across the country. The primary focus areas for the BJP are the Hindi-speaking states – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. While the party has minimal support in south Indian states, Modi has attempted to bridge the gap by reaching out to Tamil Nadu, leveraging the state’s traditional bond with Kashi, his parliamentary constituency.
The BJP has also sought to form alliances with the Biju Janata Dal, led by Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, and the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, but the saffron party’s overtures have been spurned by both the parties. The party’s strategy is now focused on enticing leaders from opposition ranks to defect to its fold and consolidate Modi’s political strength.
Political observers acknowledge that Modi holds an advantage on the campaign trail, but crossing the much-touted mark of 400-plus seats would be a huge challenge.
