By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Extortion from business and corporate by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government for the ruling BJP has already been exposed recently, after the names of the donors and receiver political parties that were kept secret under Electoral Bond Scheme, had to be published under the direction of the Supreme Court of India. Many of them were found to be intimidated by Central investigating agencies, who under panic, donated huge funds to BJP, and even bought protection from the government which included pardon.
Soon after this and other murky deals (quid pro quo) exposed, PM Narendra Modi is out to destroy his chief political opponent leaders and political parties. Several opposition leaders have been detained, including his chief challenger AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, accounts of the main opposition Congress were frozen and astronomical amount of fine and taxes were imposed on the party just on the eve of Lok Sabha election 2024.
The developments are significant. Germany, US, and now the United Nations have noted the detention of Kejriwal, and freezing of Congress’s bank accounts that its leader Rahul Gandhi has termed “Tax Terrorism”, after the party was served fresh notices on March 29 from the Department of Income tax asking the party to pay around Rs 1823 crore, over and above the Rs 1.4 million tax earlier demanded.
It was only on March 21, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken had called the earlier demand of tax an “unprecedented action” asking when “all political parties are exempt from income tax, then why is only Congress being penalized?” He said their 11 accounts were frozen and the 2.1 billion rupees in them were put under lien. It meant that the said amount cannot be withdrawn by the Congress. “This is not the freezing of Indian National Congress’ bank accounts,” Rahul Gandhi said adding, “This is the freezing of Indian Democracy.”
After the Congress received fresh notices on March 29, the Party President Mallikarjun Kharge has said, “Rs 4,600 crore penalty overlooked for BJP’s Rs 42 crore unaccounted deposit, while Rs 135 crore penalty is demanded from Congress’ for Rs 14 lakh cash deposits by MLAs and MPs!”
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that through the electoral bond scam, the BJP has collected Rs 8,200 crore and used the route of “pre-paid, post-paid, post-raid bribes and shell companies,” and “on the other hand the BJP engaged in tax terrorism.”
When the issue of inflicting tax terror on Congress began coming to limelight in February and March 2024, on the eve of the Lok Sabha election, Congress had accused Modi government of using the Department of Income Tax to starve the party of finances ahead of Lok Sabha election next month. Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi had said that they had made “a systematic effort to cripple the party financially”.
The issue has raised several important questions – such as if political parties in India are exempted from tax, why should Department of Income Tax under PM Narendra Modi should take such selective action against only the chief opposition Congress?
As per the record Department of Income tax are asking for penalties for so-called discrepancies in tax returns of the Congress for previous years. Congress says that penalty of Rs 135 crore has been clamped on the party for a cash deposit of Rs 14 lakh by its MPs and MLAs in 2019. Why Modi’s Income Tax department took five years to detect the discrepancy and just on the eve of Lok Sabha election 2024? Secondly, the penalty was a result of re-assessment, why? Why the first assessment could not find any discrepancy? Are the officials incompetent? Should no action be taken against them by PM Modi for their incompetency?
Moreover, one can see what is happening in the Department of Income Tax through the notices of penalty to Congress. The party president Kharge has said a penalty of Rs 54 crore has been imposed by the IT authorities for the year 1993-94, Rs 182 crore for 2016-17, Rs 179 crore for 2017-18, Rs 918 crore for 2018-19, and Rs480 crore for 2019-20. The delay itself tells about very bad performance of the Income Tax Department or it is working as a political tool for tax terrorism on behalf of PM Narendra Modi to finish Congress, which he has been terming as “Congress Mukt Bharat”.
It should be noted that as a political party Congress has been tax-exempted party. However, the Department of Income Tax is said to have denied this privilege for the year 2018-19 to the party after the Lok Sabha election 2019 alleging that the party indulged extensively in use of cash. Thereafter, reassessments were started for seven years from 2014-15 to 2020-21.
In the meantime, the tax terrorism has been expanded to other parties too. The CPI and CPI(M) have also been served notices. CPI has said that it received a notice from Income Tax department for using an old PAN card. Tax recovery notice for Rs 15.59 crore were sent to CPI(M) for not declaring a bank account in its tax returns for 2016-17. Trinamool Congress has also been sent about a dozen notices.
Other than this tax terrorism on the eve of General Election 2024, the detention of Kejriwal is most disturbing of the political tyrannies. It is significant since he is the only opposition leader in India who in the last three subsequent elections in the National Capital Delhi (two Vidhan Sabha and one MCD) had served humiliating defeat to BJP, even when so called ‘all charismatic’ Narendra Modi aggressively campaigned against AAP leader Kejriwal and his government in the state. Chief Minister’s powers were clipped and the definition of the government in Delhi is changed giving all encompassing power to Lieutenant Governor, which was against the tenets of Constitutional Federalism in India.
Even though, the maverick leader Kejriwal emerged as irresistible political force against PM Narendra Modi who is seeking for him and his party BJP the third term in the forthcoming General Election 2024. PM Modi has got him detained through Enforcement Directorate on March 21, in Delhi Excise Policy case, in which the earlier “kingpin” detained by ED, was pardoned and made approver after his associated companies donated Rs 55 crore to BJP.
These incidents are tyrannical, a taint which PM Narendra Modi can’t simply wish away. The IT action is a blot to the very basics of parliamentary democracy. Lok Sabha poll 2024 has already ceased to be free and fair. It is for Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court of India to take action. Political parties must declare their income and taxes, so that people may see the fairness or unfairness of the political leaderships. (IPA Service)
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