New Delhi: A war of words erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheeted Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the alleged money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.
The saffron party accused the Congress leaders of "looting the country" and took "Gandhi development model" dig, whereas the grand old party called it a "political vendetta" by the Narendra Modi-led Central Government against its leaders.
What BJP Said?
Former law minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the law will take its own course. He added that probe agencies will not be fazed by the "threats" of the Congress.
Prasad asked the Congress to reply to the substance of the allegations against the Gandhis instead of merely offering a political reaction. The former union minister also highlighted the main allegation against the Congress leaders that as the 76 per cent shareholder of the Young India company they "misappropriated" thousands of crores of real estate owned by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL). Notably, AJL owned the National Herald newspaper.
Prasad also accused the Congress of threatening the probe agency. "We condemn the threats from the Congress. There is Modi government in place. It will allow the law to take its own course," he told reporters.
The BJP leader further added that The Young India wrote off the Rs 90 crore loan that the Congress had given to the AJL and got ownership of the company with a paltry investment of Rs 50 lakhs.
The land was given to the AJL by the government, he said. The former union minister further alleged that the National Herald was used by the Congress establishment to collect advertisements and properties.
"A newspaper that was established in the freedom struggle to espouse the voice of those fighting British imperialism degenerated into a money-minting exercise for the Congress party establishment," Prasad said as quoted by PTI.
Targeting the Congress, Prasad said that this is "Gandhi model of development". He also highlighted the allegations of land grabbing against Priyanka Gandhi's husband, Robert Badra,
Congress's reaction:
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate called the ED's chargesheet against Sonai and Rahul "vendetta politics".
Speaking to ANI, Shrinate said, "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..."
She further stated that the public and the party were agitated, further questioning how a money laundering chargesheet could be filed when neither one paisa nor a single asset was laundered nor transferred.
"Our people are agitated, the 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," she added.
Party leader Sachin Pilot said the case was politically motivated and that the party members had been purposefully targeted.
Protest By Congress:
Meanwhile Congress launched a massive protest against the Central government and investigative agencies after the ED's chargesheet.
Protests have been organised across the country, with several prominent leaders at the forefront.
In Delhi some of the Congress leaders were detained by the Delhi Police as they attempted to breach security cordons near the Congress office.
(With inputs from agencies)
