<\/p>\n
India\u2019s main opposition Congress party said on Friday that its bank accounts had been frozen by the tax department just weeks before the expected announcement of national elections.<\/p>\n
Critics and rights groups have accused India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government of using law enforcement agencies to selectively target its political foes.<\/p>\n
Congress spokesman Ajay Maken said the action against his party was aimed at sidelining it ahead of the polls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the principal opposition party\u2019s accounts have been frozen just two weeks before the announcement of the national elections, do you think democracy is alive in our country?\u201d he asked reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you think it is going towards one party system?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Four of Congress\u2019s accounts had been frozen after an investigation of the party\u2019s 2018-19 income tax returns, Maken said.<\/p>\n
He added that the tax department had issued a payment demand for 2.1 billion rupees ($25.3 million) in relation to its probe.<\/p>\n
Maken conceded that the party had filed its returns late by up to 45 days but insisted it had done nothing to warrant such a penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is a sad day for Indian democracy,\u201d he said, adding that the party was appealing the decision in court and would stage public protests.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s announcement follows numerous legal sanctions and active investigations against leading opponents of Modi\u2019s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).<\/p>\n
Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, scion of the dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades, was convicted<\/a> of criminal libel last year after a complaint by a member of Modi\u2019s party.<\/p>\n His two-year prison sentence saw him disqualified<\/a> from parliament for a time until the verdict was suspended<\/a> by a higher court, but raised concerns over democratic norms in the world\u2019s most populous country.<\/p>\n Congress is a member of an opposition party alliance hoping to challenge Modi at this year\u2019s polls<\/a>, and other leading figures in the bloc have also found themselves under investigation.<\/p>\n\u2018Face the consequences\u2019<\/h2>\n