'Utter Desperation Of Defeat': BJP Hits Back At Congress Over I-T Notice, Says Routine Tax Process Followed

The BJP held a press conference after the Congress party blamed the saffron camp for freezing of its bank accounts ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday hit back at the Congress party over the freezing of the latter's bank accounts saying it was the utter desperation of defeat that the grand old party has created an alibi. 

The Congress top brass held a press conference earlier in the day and accused the ruling BJP of freezing its bank accounts and serving notices by the Income Tax department for two separate cases pertaining to assessment years 2017-18 and 1994-95.  

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that it was not the freezing of the party's bank accounts but India's democracy. 

Responding to the charges leveled by Congress, the saffron camp held a press conference hours later saying that the party has nothing to do with the action being taken by the Income Tax department. The party also said that Congress was doing it in "utter desperation of defeat" and that routine tax process was being followed.

"If we summarise the press conference of Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi, we can say that in the utter desperation of defeat, the Congress party has created an alibi today," said party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad. 

"As far as bank account freezing is concerned if you are a defaulter, you will be treated like one. The sense of entitlement that the Gandhi family had that even if we were a defaulter, provisions of the law of this country would not apply to us. The era of this kind of entitlement is now over under PM Narendra Modi...," said party spokesperson Sambit Patra. 

BJP president JP Nadda also took a swipe at the Congress party which has questioned the timing of such an action by the Income Tax department. Responding to the accusation, Nadda said that Congress conveniently blamed its irrelevance on ‘financial troubles’.

"Congress is going to be totally rejected by the people and fearing a historic defeat, their top leadership addressed a press conference and ranted against Indian democracy and institutions. They are conveniently blaming their irrelevance on ‘financial troubles’. In reality, their bankruptcy is moral and intellectual, not financial" said the BJP leader in a post on X. 

"For a party which has looted from every sector, in every state and at every moment of history, to talk of financial helplessness is comical," he added.