"Congress indulging in low-level politics": Vaishnaw on National Herald row

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ashwini Vaishnaw has strongly criticised the Congress for launching nationwide protests following the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet against top party leaders in the National Herald case. Calling it a case of "corruption" rather than a political issue, Vaishnaw said the Congress is indulging in "low-level politics" instead of accepting responsibility.

Vaishnaw hits out at Congress

Speaking to ANI, Vaishnaw said, "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." His remarks came after the Congress accused the central government of using investigative agencies for political gain and held protests across the country.

"Slave of the Gandhi family"

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also attacked the Congress, saying, “The party is acting like a slave of the Gandhi family. The Constitution is the same for all 140 crore Indians. There was a huge scam in the National Herald case, whose probe began during Congress’ own rule. Agencies must be allowed to function freely.”

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 multiple firms allegedly linked to financial irregularities in the National Herald matter.

Congress terms it political vendetta

Reacting to the ED’s action, Congress called the chargesheet part of a “political vendetta” campaign. 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 commented on the issue, saying, "The Congress itself made this ED law. At that time, many parties opposed it, telling Congress that you were bringing such a law that could ultimately cause trouble to you. Any leader who was against the BJP in Maharashtra faced ED, CBI, and the Income Tax department... I understand enough to know that a department like ED should be abolished. I will ask Congress to demand the same thing. Having ED means that you are not even truly independent."

The case is scheduled for arguments on cognisance in the Rouse Avenue Court on April 25.