National Herald Case: BJP Hits Out At Gandhi Family With 'Baadshahat' Jibe After Congress Slams ED Move

The Congress and the BJP are trading blames over the Enforcement Directorate's action against Associated Journals Ltd and Young Indian.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Source : Instagram@ravishankarprasad

The BJP has slammed the Congress for its "petty vendetta" remark over the Enforcement Directorate's latest action in the National Herald case, saying that the Gandhi family tried to "control the legacy of the freedom movement". The ED on Tuesday issued an order to attach assets of the Associated Journals Limited and Young Indian worth Rs 751.9 crore. The order was issued against the Congress-linked firms as part of a money-laundering probe.

The Congress called the ED's move "petty vendetta tactics" by the BJP-led Centre. Congress leader Manickam Tagore said the ED was working on the orders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the order was "illegal".

Reacting to this, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said, "The Congress always says that they worked in the fight of the freedom movement. First, they appropriated the freedom movement to their family. On that basis, the [Gandhi] family started its own 'Baadshahat' [kingship]. The whole story of the National Herald says that this family not only controls the legacy of the freedom movement and party but also controls the property legacy and makes it their personal property... There are newspapers, shares, and property related to the freedom struggle, and that is also their property. This is a new low in the democracy of India..."

 

Congress leader Nana Patole on Tuesday said that the ED action was a result of the fear of BJP. "They [the BJP] know that they are going to lose elections in the five states. The National Herald and the properties attached to it are made up of money from Congress party workers from the whole country. It is not the property of the Gandhi family. It has been proven that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are not involved in this. But BJP leaders in power in Delhi are trying to show this as a property of the Gandhi family. But nothing is going to be achieved from this."

 

The Congress's ally in Maharashtra Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), too, weighed in on the issue and made the "washing machine" dig at BJP again. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said: "There are many cases in the BJP too, but their properties will not be seized. Those who will come into your washing machine their property will be spared."

"Elections are going on. The National Herald made a contribution to the freedom struggle of India... The National Herald case is a political case. You want to suppress our voices, but this is not easy. This fight is going on for the democracy of the country and will continue... This used to occur in the British era, too."