Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Wednesday accused the BJP-led central government of misusing central agencies to target the opposition to take "revenge on their political enemies". He termed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case as a “political vendetta”.
This is a 'big tamasha': Venugopal
“This is a 'big tamasha' of BJP, a clear political vendetta. Everybody knows that this is a completely false case and there is nothing in it. They want to take revenge on their political enemies. They are misusing central agencies to target the opposition. The entire Congress party and people of India will stand by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.”
Vaishnaw hits out at Congress
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded sharply, saying, “In the National Herald, they are doing politics of a very low level. This is not a political issue, it is a case of corruption. Congress should own it.”
ED filed prosecution complaint
On April 16, the ED filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The charges involve the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3, read with Section 70, and punishable under Section 4 of the same Act.
The chargesheet names Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others, including several companies allegedly linked to financial irregularities in the National Herald case.
Congress terms it political vendetta
Reacting to the development, Congress reiterated that the charges were politically motivated. Party leader Udit Raj said, “We want the public to understand that a fake chargesheet has been registered against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. It is completely baseless and illegal. No one is bigger than the public, and we will take our case to them.”
Akhilesh Yadav calls for scrapping the ED
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also weighed in: “The Congress itself made this ED law. Many parties opposed it back then, warning Congress it might backfire. Any leader who stands against BJP faces ED, CBI, Income Tax. I believe ED should be abolished. I urge Congress to raise the same demand.”
The case is scheduled for arguments on cognisance in the Rouse Avenue Court on April 25.
