Amidst the political hubbub, the Congress strategizes a dual approach, aiming to sway both the public opinion and the judicial scales regarding the taxation imbroglio resulting in the freezing of the party’s financial reservoirs, mere weeks preceding the impending electoral tussle. Insights divulged from within the party circles unveil a plan for the regional heads to convene press conferences on March 22, spotlighting the detrimental repercussions of the account freeze on essential electoral undertakings, encompassing securing advertising slots across various media platforms, organizing promotional paraphernalia, and facilitating nationwide mobilization.
Subsequently, the regional heads are slated to embark on a public outreach endeavor, soliciting financial aid from both the party’s nominees and grassroots supporters. Central to their discourse will be the lament over the purported skewing of the electoral playing field against the venerable party, a scenario hitherto unprecedented in the annals of Indian democracy.
Furthermore, emphasis will be laid on the anomaly whereby political entities are exempt from income tax liabilities, yet the Congress finds itself ensnared in two separate litigations, one dating back 7-8 years, and the other harkening to the tenure of Sitaram Kesri as the AICC treasurer. Party stalwarts will decry the imposition of exorbitant penalties, far surpassing the prescribed limit of Rs 10,000 for tardy submission of income tax returns, with the government resorting to draconian measures such as levying hefty fines and seizing funds from the party’s coffers.
Internal deliberations among party functionaries have resolved to deploy the upper echelons of leadership, including former presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, alongside the incumbent chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in a concerted effort to galvanize public sentiment vis-a-vis the tax predicament. Concurrently, a consortium of legal luminaries, comprising erstwhile Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, and Vivek Tankha, is meticulously exploring legal recourses available to the party.
Despite an earlier recourse to the High Court for redressal against the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s ruling, the party was redirected to re-litigate before the Tax Tribunal. Consequently, a recourse to the Supreme Court is contemplated, buoyed by the recent directive mandating the State Bank of India to furnish comprehensive particulars concerning electoral bonds.
Given the Congress’s vociferous allegations of impropriety in the electoral bond scheme, party strategists are fervently engaged in disseminating incriminating data, implicating a quid pro quo nexus in the sale of electoral bonds. Revelations suggest that a staggering Rs 4,000 crore of the Rs 8,000 crore in poll bonds were directly linked to contracts worth Rs 4 lakh crore announced by the Central government.
Moreover, the glaring disparity surfaces in the distribution of bonds, with the BJP commanding a lion’s share of 56 percent, while the Congress languishes with a meager 11 percent. The regional heads are poised to underscore the incongruity, questioning the legality of donations facilitated through electoral bonds, particularly in light of the apex court’s pronouncement deeming them unlawful, and raising pertinent queries regarding the BJP’s tax exemption on such contributions.
Previously, the Congress had raised aspersions regarding the purported funneling of substantial donations, to the tune of several hundred crores, from entities subject to scrutiny by central investigative agencies, to the BJP coffers via electoral bonds, insinuating a form of coercion akin to extortion.
