India’s main opposition party accuses the government of freezing its bank accounts ahead of election

By ASHOK SHARMA
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s main opposition Congress party is accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of stifling democracy and crippling the party by freezing its bank accounts in a tax dispute ahead of national elections. India’s 6-week-long general election will start April 19, with most polls predicting a victory for Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Rahul Gandhi, a former Congress party chief, says it is unable to campaign properly with its accounts frozen, and that the action taken against the party shows that “there is no democracy in India today.” The governing party rejected the allegations, saying the Congress party’s bank accounts were partially frozen because it had failed to file an income tax return for cash donations it received in 2017-18.