Born in 1963, Ansari, who was then called Mukhtar Junior, was the youngest of three brothers. Ansari got a bachelor’s degree from the Ghazipur Government PG College. He was said to be a good cricketer who played many tournaments for his college
The Congress has received a Rs 1,700 crore notice from the Income Tax Department, a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed the party’s petition challenging the tax notices.
The fresh notice is for assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalty and interest.
The Congress is already facing a funds crunch after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore and froze its funds. The party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to move the Supreme Court.
The party has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.
“The notices are being sent to cripple us financially. This is tax terrorism, and this is being used to attack the Congress, This has to stop,” Congress’s Jairam Ramesh said in a press conference today.
In February, the I-T department had found fault in the party’s tax returns and demanded Rs 200 crore. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had asked the party to pay the dues and froze their accounts.
The Congress said the tax tribunal’s order freezing its funds was “an attack on democracy” as the order came just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court rejected petitions by the Congress challenging the initiation of tax reassessment proceedings against it for a period of four years.
Funding for political parties is becoming a central issue in this election, particularly after the Supreme Court struck down electoral bonds – which allow individuals and/or businesses to make anonymous donations to political parties – on grounds it violated citizens’ right to information.
The Congress and other opposition parties welcomed the verdict, which scrapped a scheme that had benefitted the BJP the most.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife today shared a helpline number for his supporters to share their messages with the AAP chief, who remains in the Enforcement Directorate custody since his arrest last week.
केजरीवाल जी को आशीर्वाद देने के लिए आप इस नम्बर पर WhatsApp करें – 8297324624 l Smt. @KejriwalSunita Addressing an Important Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/eAbIiUgJO3
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 29, 2024
“We are starting a drive from today – ‘Kejriwal ko Aashirvaad’. You can send your blessings and prayers to him on the WhatsApp number 8297324624. You can send any message you want,” said Sunita Kejriwal in a video message.
She said many people had phoned her and said they were fasting for Mr Kejriwal’s release.
“This is how much people love him. Send us whatever you want to tell. Every single message of yours will reach him and he will love reading those. You need not be from AAP to write to him,” added the Chief Minister’s wife.
Read | “His Health Not Okay”: Sunita Kejriwal Shares Update On Husband Arvind
Ms Kejriwal had taken to video messages to address AAP supporters directly after her husband’s arrest.
While being taken to the court yesterday, Mr Kejriwal dubbed the case against him as a “political conspiracy”. His wife told reporters outside the court that he is not keeping well in the ED custody.
“His health is not okay at the moment. Your Chief Minister is being harassed. The public will give a fitting reply on this,” she said after the court extended his ED custody till April 1.
Read | A Day After Arvind Kejriwal’s Arrest, His Wife’s Message
Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21, is the third AAP leader after Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh to be arrested in the alleged liquor policy scam.
The ED believes the now-scrapped policy provided a high profit margin of nearly 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers. A portion from the wholesalers’ cut was recovered as bribes and allegedly used to fund the AAP’s Goa election campaign, the agency claims.