"Our leaders cannot fly from one part of the country to another. Forget flying, they cannot even take a train," says Rahul Gandhi on freezing of Congress bank accounts

As Congress bank accounts frozen, party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi says, "We are fighting against hatred-filled 'Asura-shakti' ".

 On the freezing of Congress's bank accounts, Rahul Gandhi said it was "orchestrated" to cripple the party in the Lok Sabha election. "Our leaders cannot fly from one part of the country to another. Forget flying, they cannot even take a train," Gandhi said.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleged that the finances of the principal opposition party were under assault. "Funds collected from the public are being frozen and money from our accounts is being taken away forcibly," she said.  

Rahul Gandhi also questioned the "silence" of the Election Commission over the issue. "What's interesting to me is that there are institutions in this country that are supposed to protect the democratic framework. There is an Election Commission in the country, but it has not even said anything."  

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said under the electoral bonds scheme, the BJP "filled its accounts with thousands and crores of rupees". 

"On the other hand, under a conspiracy, the bank account of the main opposition party has been frozen. So, in the absence of funds, there is no level-playing field. This is a dangerous game by the ruling party which will have a far-reaching impact," Kharge said.

In a rare press conference by three top Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, the party launched a no-holds barred attack on the BJP-led government for freezing its bank accounts just ahead of Lok Sabha elections and the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme.

While Sonia Gandhi said there was a "systematic effort" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "cripple" the Congress financially, Rahul called it a "criminal action" by the PM and the Home Minister. On the other hand, Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the BJP took money from some companies, in reference to the electoral bonds scheme, which was scrapped by the Supreme Court.

BJP national president J P Nadda lashed out at the Congress in reaction to the press meet and said:

"Congress is going to be totally rejected by the people and fearing a historic defeat, their top leadership addressed a press conference and ranted against Indian democracy and institutions. 

They are conveniently blaming their irrelevance on ‘financial troubles’. In reality, their bankruptcy is moral and intellectual, not financial. 

Instead of correcting their own errors, Congress is blaming authorities for their troubles. Be it the ITAT or the Delhi HC, they have asked the Congress to comply with the rules, pay the taxes due but the Party never did so. 

"For a party which has looted from every sector, in every state and at every moment of history, to talk of financial helplessness is comical. Congress can use the money accumulated from all their scams starting from jeep to chopper scam via Bofors for their electioneering. 

"Congress part time leaders say India being a democracy is a lie- may I humbly remind them that India was not a democracy only for a few months between 1975 and 1977 and that time the Prime Minister of India was none other than Mrs. Indira Gandhi."

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's "Asura-shakti" remark, BJP leader Nalin Kohli says, 

"...By calling a government elected by the people 'Asura'shakti', the Congress is confirming that they have no faith in the people of India, voters of India, those who determine the destiny of India...Do they believe that people vote for Asuras? 

The fact of the matter is that the Congress party has no credible reason to go before the people, it's looking for excuses and others to blame for their own inadequacies."