Congress hits streets, terms I-T notices an attempt to 'choke' party ahead of polls

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 30 (PTI) A large number of Congress leaders and workers carried out a sit-in protest on Saturday in Kerala's capital over the Income Tax notices issued to the party, and alleged that the ruling BJP is trying to "choke" it financially ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The protest was organised in front of the Income Tax Department office here by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

Inaugurating the sit-in protest, KPCC acting President M M Hassan launched a scathing attack against the BJP government at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The objective of the BJP is to choke the Congress party financially and keep it completely out of election-related activities," he alleged.

Besides the Congress, several other opposition political parties had also been served with the I-T notices by the BJP government, he pointed out.

At the same time, the BJP has amassed crores of rupees via electoral bonds and is not even ready to disclose the actual amount before the Supreme Court, the leader further charged.

Similar protests were held in other parts of the state too.

The Congress received I-T notices, asking it to pay dues of Rs 1,823 crore for alleged discrepancies in tax returns filed in previous years.

The party has been raising the allegation that the BJP-led Centre is trying to "cripple" the opposition in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections. PTI