Systematic attempt by PM to cripple Congress: Sonia Gandhi

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of crippling the Congress financially, former party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday demanded that the party be given 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.

"...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," Congress president Kharge added.

According to Rahul Gandhi, this is not a freezing of the Congress' accounts but a freezing of Indian democracy.

"There is no democracy in India today and the idea that India is the world’s largest democracy is a complete lie," Rahul Gandhi alleged, terming the freezing of accounts a criminal action against the Congress and a criminal action by the prime minister and home minister.

"There are institutions that are supposed to protect the democratic framework but nothing is happening," he said.

According to Sonia Gandhi, money from the Congress' accounts were being taken away forcefully.

"Systematic effort is underway by prime minister to cripple the Congress financially," she said, hitting out at the government.

On the one hand is the electoral bonds issue, on the other, finances of the principal opposition party are under assault, Sonia Gandhi said.

"Even under these challenges we are doing our best to maintain effectiveness of our campaign," Sonia Gandhi told reporters.

The issue, she said, is extremely serious and affects not just Congress but India's democracy.

"I appeal to constitutional bodies that they should allow our party to access bank accounts if they want free and fair polls," Kharge said.

The party in power, he said, amassed funds through electoral bonds while freezing the Congress' accounts to create hurdles for it in fighting polls.

"Those in power should not have direct or indirect control over constitutional bodies," he said, adding that those in power should not have monopoly over resources.