Congress Seeks To Blame BJP For Its I-T Lapses

The Congress leadership made a mega event of its lapses. Yes, its failure to file I-T returns for assessment Year 2018-19.  Confronted with a penalty of Rs 135 cr, party’s top leaders decided that they must make full use of the I-T action against its finances and dub it as a vindictive action in the time of elections. Is it going to help? Unlikely. Making a rare appearance along with son Rahul and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi dubbed the I-T action as an attempt to cripple the party financially. She declared freezing Congress bank accounts impacted “our democracy itself most fundamentally”.  On his part Rahul Gandhi, highlighted how his party was unable to conduct a normal campaign.  He wondered if the “idea of India as a democracy” is a lie. The government’s actions are “being orchestrated to cripple us before the elections.” The Congress narrative was countered by senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. He pointed out that the Congress lost its appeal at every stage — I-T tribunal and in the Delhi HC. “Rs 135 crore tax plus interest was levied.  Delhi High Court rejected their appeal on March 13. The court remarked, “It was a badly handled matter. Somebody from the Congress office went to sleep right from 2021. Now they have gone to SC. The matter is listed on April 1. Rahul Gandhi did not disclose these facts but chose to attack all democratic institutions.”  Prasad clarified that political parties do not have to pay income tax but have to file their returns every year. “If you do not file every year, you lose your exemption. What has the BJP got to do with it”.