Lok Sabha polls: MP Congress seeks citizen donations, with bank accounts frozen

The Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, 31 March launched a "one note, one vote" campaign seeking donations to contest Lok Sabha elections claiming the party has run out of money since its bank accounts have been frozen by the BJP-led Central government.

Speaking on the occasion, MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari said the move to freeze the bank accounts after the model code of conduct kicked in was aimed at financially weakening the party in the run-up to elections.

The campaign was launched at the busy Roshanpura crossing.

Congress candidates from Bhopal and Jabalpur, namely Arun Shrivastava and Dinesh Yadav, campaigned with boxes in their hands and sought one rupee from a voter, besides seeking votes for the party.

Congress nominees from other seats in Madhya Pradesh also joined the campaign.

Top Congress leaders, including its president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, had earlier put the spotlight on their party’s precarious finances ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier, Sonia Gandhi had characterised the freezing of the party's bank accounts as a "systematic effort" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to financially incapacitate the party.

"The issue we are taking up today is extremely serious. The issue affects not just the Indian National Congress but the democracy itself. A systematic effort is underway by the Prime Minister to cripple the Indian National Congress financially," Sonia Gandhi said

Rahul Gandhi went further, condemning it as a "criminal action" orchestrated by both the Prime Minister and union home minister Amit Shah.