Sonia Gandhi's all-out attack

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of a "systematic effort to cripple Congress financially" ahead of general elections. The 77-year-old joined a rare press conference where her son, Rahul Gandhi, and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, along with other leaders, slammed the BJP-led NDA government for Congress's funds crunch.

The BJP was quick to counter, with party chief JP Nadda saying that 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". He further said that Congress's bankruptcy is "moral and intellectual".

Last week, the Income Tax sent a notice to Congress to reopen assessment for the financial year 1994-95.The party is embroiled in a contentious income tax case with the IT Department concerning tax claims for the assessment year (AY) 2018-19. Initially, a claim of Rs 103 crore was filed, which was later revised to Rs 105 crore. However, with the inclusion of Rs 30 crore as interest, the claim escalated to Rs 135 crore.