India: Cong demands access to its bank accounts, Sonia says systematic effort by PM to cripple party

Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) A systematic effort is underway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cripple the Congress financially, Sonia Gandhi alleged on Thursday as her party stepped up its demand for access to its bank accounts to ensure a level playing field in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.

In a press conference also addressed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the party stressed that all its accounts were frozen. The move, the party's top brass said, not just impacted the Congress but democracy in India. "...We can do no campaign work... Our ability to fight elections has been damaged," former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said while launching a scathing attack on the government over the issue of freezing of the party's accounts due to an Income Tax returns issue.

"Defreeze our accounts to ensure a level playing field in polls," Kharge demanded.