BJP cannot intimidate Congress with ‘tax terrorism’: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cannot intimidate Congress with “tax terrorism” which has been “misusing” autonomous institutions like the IT Department, ED, and CBI to undermine the party.

“The BJP fearful of impending defeat in the Lok Sabha election have unleashed ‘tax terrorism’ on our party. They are under the illusion that by weakening our party, it can win the election,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

He said that the IT Department has issued a notice to the Congress, alleging unpaid income taxes and has demanded a payment of Rs 1,823 crore.

“Our leaders have revealed that between 2017 and 2018, the BJP obtained contributions from 92 undisclosed donors, and from 1,297 donors lacking address details, amounting to Rs 42 crore. Should the same criteria be applied to the BJP, it would be liable to pay Rs 4,263 crore for tax discrepancies over the last seven years,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that as the elections approach, the Income Tax Department has become hyperactive, using ‘tax terrorism’ as a tool against opposition parties, including TMC and CPI.

“The same IT Department, which aggressively targets opposition parties, mysteriously turns a blind eye to the BJP’s tax violations. The public is not so ignorant as not to question who is blindfolding the IT Department,” Siddaramaiah said.

The IT Department, which levies accusations of tax violations against certain Congress leaders citing supposed diary entries, overlooks the Yediyurappa diaries exposed in Karnataka, as well as the ‘Birla-Sahara’ diary that suggests Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a beneficiary. Why have these not caught the department’s attention, the Chief Minister added.