Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the Congress to reply to the substance of allegations against the Gandhis instead of merely offering a political reaction. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Asserting that no one has a “license to loot”, the ruling BJP on Wednesday (April 16, 2025) dismissed the Congress’ charge of vendetta after the ED chargesheeted Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the ‘National Herald’ case.
Former Law Minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the Congress to reply to the substance of allegations against the Gandhis instead of merely offering a political reaction, noting that the opposition party found no relief from the judiciary in its pleas against the probe.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Prasad outlined the main charge against the Gandhis that as the 76% share-holder of the Young India company they “misappropriated” thousands of crores of real estate owned by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which owned the National Herald newspaper.
He said the Congress has the right to hold ‘dharnas’ (to protest ED chargesheet against Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi) but that right does not extend to misappropriating public properties given by the government to the National Herald.
He accused the Congress of issuing threats to the probe agency and asked if the party and Gandhis believe in the due process of law or not.
“We condemn the threats from the Congress. There is Modi government in place. It will allow the law to take its own course,” he said.
The Young India, he said, wrote off the ₹90 cr loan that the Congress had given to the AJL and got the ownership of the company with a paltry investment of ₹50 lakhs.
The land was given to the AJL by the government, he said, adding that the National Herald was allegedly used by the Congress establishment to collect advertisement and properties.
He alleged, “A newspaper that was established in the freedom struggle to espouse the voice of those fighting the British imperialism degenerated into a money-minting exercise for the Congress party establishment.”
Taking a swipe, he said this is the “Gandhi model of development” as he noted the allegation against Ms. Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra of pocketing a huge profit in land deal in Haryana with the collusion of the then Congress government in the state.
The National Herald was started in the 1930s as a voice of the freedom struggle with 5,000 shareholders but was reduced to a fief of the Nehru-Gandhi family, he alleged.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court here in the ‘National Herald’ case, accusing them of allegedly laundering ₹988 crore.
The Congress described the ED’s chargesheet as vendetta politics and claimed seizing of assets in the case was a “state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law”.
Published – April 16, 2025 12:14 pm IST
