NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Congress workers staged a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday, accusing the Narendra Modi government of political vendetta following a court’s refusal to inspect the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) charge sheet in the National Herald case.
The protest was led by Devender Yadav, president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), who alleged that central agencies were being misused to target opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, against whom the ED has filed the charge sheet along with five other Congress members.
Addressing the protesters, Yadav said the court’s decision had exposed what he termed the “malafide and illegitimate actions” of the Modi government. “Truth will win. We believe in Satyamev Jayate. The truth has prevailed, and the fake National Herald case has failed,” he said.
Congress workers, carrying placards and raising slogans such as “Modi jhooth ki aandhi, satya sada Gandhi hai” and “Whenever Modi is afraid, Modi keeps police in front”, attempted to march towards the BJP office. Police intervened and detained the protesters, including Yadav, before taking them to the IP Estate police station. They were later released.
Several senior Congress leaders participated in the protest, including Qazi Nizamuddin, AICC in-charge for Delhi; Alka Lamba, president of the All India Mahila Congress; Rajendra Pal Gautam, chairman of the AICC SC Department; former DPCC president Anil Kumar; former MP Ramesh Kumar; former Delhi ministers Haroon Yusuf, Narendra Nath, Kiran Walia and Yoganand Shastri; former MLAs Hari Shankar Gupta, Kunwar Karan Singh, Bhisham Sharma, Vijay Lochav, Asif Mohammad Khan and Devender Sehrawat; DPYC president Akshay Lakra; and district presidents Siddharth Rao, Dharampal Chandela and Sunil Kumar, among others.
Yadav claimed that the court had rejected the ED’s charge sheet as it was based on a private complaint and failed to establish any offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. “This clearly indicates that no trial can proceed in such a manner in a case like this,” he said.
He further alleged that the BJP had received a “befitting reply” and accused the government of misusing institutions with a “vindictive mindset”. Referring to the long pendency of the case, Yadav said the matter, dating back to 2014, was entirely baseless, noting that neither the Central Bureau of Investigation nor the ED had found anyone guilty.
“The National Herald case is fake and fabricated. It has been pursued purely out of political revenge by Modi and Shah. Congress workers will continue to expose the systematic misuse of the ED against opposition leaders,” he added.