ED's National Herald Case Against Gandhis Sparks Big Congress Protests, BJP Rejects 'Vendetta' Claim
BJP dismissed Congress' vendetta claim after ED chargesheeted Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. Ravi Shankar Prasad said the law will take its course under Modi's government
The Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case has snowballed into a controversy, with Congress calling it an example of “vendetta" politics while the ruling BJP asserted that no one has a “license to loot".
Congress workers held a massive protest against Central Government and Central agencies, outside their party office on Wednesday.
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Former law minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the law will take its own course under the Modi government and that probe agencies will not be fazed by the “threats" of the Congress.
Speaking to reporters, he asked the Congress to reply to the substance of allegations against the Gandhis instead of merely offering a political reaction, noting that the opposition party found no relief from the judiciary in its pleas against the probe.
He outlined the main charge against the Gandhis that as the 76 per cent share-holder of the Young India company they “misappropriated" thousands of crores of real estate owned by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which owned the National Herald newspaper.
The senior BJP leader said the Congress has the right to hold ‘dharnas’ (to protest the ED chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul) but that right does not extend to misappropriating public properties given by the government to the National Herald.
“We condemn the threats from the Congress. There is Modi government in place. It will allow the law to take its own course," he said.
The Young India, he said, wrote off the Rs 90 crore loan that the Congress had given to the AJL and got the ownership of the company with a paltry investment of Rs 50 lakhs. The land was given to the AJL by the government, he said, adding that the National Herald was allegedly used by the Congress establishment to collect advertisement and properties.
He alleged, “A newspaper that was established in the freedom struggle to espouse the voice of those fighting the British imperialism degenerated into a money-minting exercise for the Congress party establishment." Taking a swipe, he said this is the “Gandhi model of development" as he noted the allegation against Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra of pocketing a huge profit in a land deal in Haryana with the collusion of the then Congress government in the state.
The National Herald was started in the 1930s as a voice of the freedom struggle with 5,000 shareholders but was reduced to a fief of the Nehru-Gandhi family, he alleged.
Prasad claimed that Congress leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Chandra Bhanu Gupta had voiced concerns over the manner in which the newspaper, which has ceased to publish, was run.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court here in the National Herald case, accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore.
Congress Says ‘Vendetta Politics’
Calling ED’s action as “vendetta politics", Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said the money laundering charge was invoked in the chargesheet where not even 1 paisa was laundered and not even one asset was transferred.
“Our people are agitated, public is agitated, Congress workers are agitated. In a 12-year-old false case, you remembered only on the last day to file a chargesheet. You invoked charges of money laundering in the chargesheet where not even 1 paisa was laundered, where not even one asset was transferred, where Young India is a non-profit organisation…The truth is that this is Narendra Modi’s vendetta politics…We will face this in court. But you can see people’s anger, our workers’ anger. It shows that PM Narendra Modi is scared of our leaders and all the issues raised by us. He is scared of the Congress’ organisational structure…Rahul Gandhi is someone who is not scared of you. This is a bogus case. The issues raised by Rahul Gandhi have exposed you," Shrinate said.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot said that case against Gandhis has been “politically motivated". “We have faith in the judicial system. We will fight it out legally…Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have been purposefully targeted. This has been done to suppress the voice of the opposition," he said.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
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