The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has de-frozen Congress’s bank accounts until a hearing next week, party leader Vivek Tankha said on Friday even as the main Opposition party slammed the action on “flimsy” and “laughable” grounds” impacting its activities weeks before the announcement of the national poll schedule.

Tankha, who appeared before the tribunal, said it will hear the matter next Wednesday before a final decision is taken. He added he told the tribunal the Congress would be unable to participate in the polls in case its accounts remain frozen.

Earlier in the day, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said the action was taken as the party filed its 2018-19 income tax returns a few days late. He said the accounts were frozen on Wednesday following an income tax demand of ₹210 crore. “We do not have any money to spend…pay electricity bills, salaries to our employees. Not only the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, everything has been impacted.”

Maken said the party was unable to use even the funds received via crowd-funding. He added that democracy was in danger.” For the first time in the country’s history, accounts of the principal Opposition party have been frozen.”

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called the action “a deep assault on India’s democracy. In a post on X, he said the “power drunk” Modi government has frozen the accounts of the largest Opposition party just before the Lok Sabha elections. He added “unconstitutional money” collected by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be utilised for elections, but the money collected through crowdfunding shall be sealed.

The comments came a day after the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme of political funding, declaring it to be “unconstitutional”. The BJP received 54.8%, or ₹6,566.12 crore of the electoral bonds, according to data furnished to the Election Commission of India and collated by the Association for Democratic Reforms.

Kharge cited the freezing of the accounts and said that is why he said that there would not be any elections in the future. “We appeal to the Judiciary to save the multi-party system in this country and protect India’s Democracy,” Kharge wrote.

Maken warned the country was headed to a “one-party democracy”. He said the party has appealed to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and hoped for justice.

He said the money in Congress’s accounts was not from capitalists or raised through bonds, but donated by ordinary citizens. ”The money in the Congress’s accounts is from the online crowdfunding. We have collected about ₹25 crore; 95% of which is from donations of less than ₹100…”

He said the BJP has all the money from the corporate electoral bond scheme, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional. He said the BJP’s accounts be frozen too.

Maken said the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal said that they have to ensure that ₹115 crore remains in the banks. “We can spend an amount over and above that. This means that ₹115 crore has been frozen. ₹115 crore is much more than we have in our current accounts.”