Bitcoin - The main Indian opposition party paralyzed by freezing its bank accounts

India's Congress Party, facing frozen bank accounts amidst election season, claims Prime Minister Modi's government is undermining democracy. This financial suppression echoes concerns raised over frozen accounts of Canadian truckers and Wikileaks, highlighting a worrying trend of financial control threatening freedoms of expression and assembly. Bitcoin emerges as a potential solution, offering financial autonomy and protection against authoritarian abuses, as demonstrated by Russia's confiscation of $300 billion by Western powers.

The Congress Party claims that the Modi government has “paralyzed” it by freezing bank accounts. Bitcoin fixes this.

Bitcoin to the Rescue of Democracy

India’s main political opposition force accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of manipulating elections by freezing its bank accounts. This financial strangulation comes under the guise of an investigation in a tax dispute.

India will hold elections over a period of six weeks starting next month. The alliance led by the Congress Party will be opposed to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Former Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday that the party cannot conduct an election campaign under these circumstances:

“Can you imagine what happens when your bank account, your credit card, your financial identity is erased? If it’s the case of a family, they will starve. If it’s the case for a business, it will be paralyzed. That’s what happened to our party, the Congress Party, one month ago. All our bank accounts have been frozen.

We cannot campaign. We cannot support our employees or our candidates. Our leaders can’t even take a plane. They can’t even take a train. And this, just two months before the election.

The election commission does nothing to unblock the bank accounts of the country’s largest opposition party. Even if our funds are unblocked today, we already lost a month. We’re unable to buy billboard locations. We can’t post ads in newspapers. What kind of democracy is this?

They say India is the world’s largest democracy, that’s a lie. 20% of Indians vote for us and we can’t pay two rupees. Your most important asset is being stolen from you. Your constitutional and democratic rights are being stolen.”

Knowing that the funds available to the ruling party are ten times those of the Congress Party…

These actions obviously remind us of the freezing of the Canadian truckers’ bank accounts. Or the freezing of the Wikileaks Paypal account.

All this parallels the recent European decision to ban cash payments over 3000 euros. This trend is very worrying. Without the freedom of transaction, we have no other rights. We lose both freedom of expression and freedom of assembly at the same time.

It is becoming increasingly clear that our financial system undermines the freedoms and rights guaranteed by our constitutions. Payment giants like PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa do not hesitate to block the ability to make donations.

Regarding this, do not miss our latest Interview with a Cypherpunk.

How many individuals, businesses, and associations are losing their bank accounts or struggling to open new ones? Today, withdrawing cash means risking being subjected to a counter-interrogation.

What about our freedoms in a world where cash would be replaced by CBDC? …

This is why Bitcoin is a formidable bulwark against authoritarian abuses. Both at an individual and a national level. Look at Russia, which had $300 billion confiscated by the EU and the United States here.

Nicolas T.

Bitcoin, geopolitical, economic and energy journalist.