Bhubaneswar: The Congress party has initiated a nationwide protest against the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) charge sheet filed against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. In Bhubaneswar, the state Congress unit held a protest in front of the ED office, led by PCC President Bhakta Charan Das. Similar protests were staged in front of various district headquarters and central government offices.
Bhakta Charan Das alleged that the Modi government is misusing the National Herald case to suppress the Congress’s voice, which is actively protesting against corruption and scams nationwide.
“The Congress has become a movement across the country against the BJP’s misrule,” Das said. He added that the allegations against the Gandhi family are baseless, and they haven’t earned any money from the National Herald.
“BJP is standing in support of its alliance parties. Modi Ji is trying to harass Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in a bid to suppress the voice of the Congress party, which has protested nationwide today,” PCC president Bhakta Das said.
“The Young India Company has not taken over the AJL company. As they claim that the Gandhi family has earned money from it, which is completely false and baseless. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and any of the shareholders have taken a single penny from the National Herald. Why have such allegations been slapped against them? The National Herald played a vital role in the independence struggle, which the BJP can’t digest,” Das added.
The ED’s charge sheet, filed on April 9, accuses Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of money laundering and names them as key accused in the case. The agency alleges that the Gandhi family took over the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) assets worth around Rs 2,000 crore through the Young Indian company. However, the Congress maintains that Young Indian is a not-for-profit entity and didn’t engage in any commercial activities.
The protests were not limited to Bhubaneswar, as Congress leaders and workers demonstrated across the country. The Congress party plans to intensify its protests in the coming days.
