Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working president and MLC Mahesh Goud said the BJP government is turning out to be most dangerous for the future of democracy and a fair political system in the country through its misuse of official machinery.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Goud took strong objection to the Income Tax Department freezing 11 accounts of the Congress in four banks on the grounds that there were some cash transactions to the tune of a few lakhs from donations totalling ₹210 crore.
“At the same time, the Income Tax Department is ignoring the enormous income generated for the BJP,” Mr. Goud alleged.
“The BJP’s income has increased 10 times in the last 10 years, while the party also garnered more than 50% of the entire electoral bonds, indicating how it has managed to threaten and coerce people into donating to the party and at the same time throttle the finances of the opposition parties,” the TPCC working president alleged. The Megha Group donated ₹170 crore to the BJP, he added.
Mr. Goud said the trend of derailing the finances of opposition parties by freezing their bank accounts, that too just before the elections, reflects how dangerous the BJP has become to the country’s democratic system. “Has any political party paid any income tax in the country?” he asked.
He alleged that the ‘huge scam’ in the purchase of electoral bonds came to light thanks to the intervention by the Supreme Court. “Despite getting admonished by the court, the BJP government does not seem to care,” Mr. Goud alleged.
“All that the BJP has done in the last 10 years is to work for crony capitalists and increase the prices of petrol and diesel to favour some companies,” he said.
Published - March 22, 2024 08:52 pm IST
