Relief for Congress as Centre tells SC ‘no coercive action’ in tax dispute before LS polls

Saddled with a tax bill of Rs 3,500 crore, and ‘frozen’ bank accounts, the opposition party has accused the ruling government of trying to cripple it before the general elections.

Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and Pawan Khera during a press conference, in New Delhi, Friday, March 29, 2024 | PTI

New Delhi: The central government told the Supreme Court Monday that no coercive action would be taken against the Congress party over its tax dues of Rs 3,500 crore till July, because of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta gave an undertaking to this effect before a bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih.

The matter will be next heard on 24 July after the seven-phase elections from 19 April to 1 June. The results will be announced on 4 June.

The Congress had on Friday said it had received a fresh notice from the income tax department asking it to pay Rs 1,823.08 crore. Party leaders said this was an attempt to financially cripple it weeks before the parliamentary elections. The party also accused the ruling BJP of indulging in “tax terrorism”.

At a press conference in Delhi last week, party treasurer Ajay Maken asserted that the Congress’s campaign would continue. “We will not be scared of these notices. We will be more aggressive and fight these polls,” the former Union minister said.

Maken alleged the Congress and other like-minded opposition parties were being selectively targeted by the income tax department, which he described as the BJP’s “frontal organisation”.

The Congress has also accused the Narendra Modi government of freezing its bank accounts in the tax dispute.

Rahul Gandhi told reporters in New Delhi on 21 March that the party was unable to campaign properly as its accounts had been blocked by the income tax department.

“Our entire financial identity has been erased,” Gandhi said, adding, “We have no money to campaign, we cannot support our candidates. Our ability to fight elections has been damaged.”

Meanwhile, the US and the United Nations have waded into both issues of the tax dispute and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, hoping for fairness in the legal process and the voting atmosphere. India has called the comments “unwarranted”.