National Herald case political conspiracy, not legal matter: Kanhaiya Kumar

Jaipur: Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Monday said the National Herald case was a “political conspiracy”, not a legal matter and accused the BJP of misusing central agencies to suppress opposition voices and distract people from core issues.

Kumar said the ruling party was “weaponising” the Enforcement Directorate (ED) — whose conviction rate, he added, is not even one percent — against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as the BJP realises that as long as the family exists, the Congress exists.

“Their dream of shattering the constitution cannot be fulfilled,” Kumar told reporters at a press conference here.

ED used to target Gandhis, distract from real issues: Kumar

“Their main agenda is to suppress the opposition voice of the country by misusing institutions like ED and diverting people’s attention from basic issues,” he said.

The ED had recently filed a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court in New Delhi in the National Herald case, accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore.

The prosecution complaint filed on April 9 under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) named Sonia Gandhi, a former Congress president, as the accused no 1, and her son and MP Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, as accused no 2.

The Congress leader said the BJP has been lying about the National Herald case from the beginning.

“Why has this new lie been spread? They are lying to defame the family that sacrificed for the country,” he said.

Kumar said the BJP’s targeting of the National Herald is similar to how the British attacked newspapers before Independence. “In 1942, the British banned the National Herald. When they were not scared of the British, will they be afraid of British spies today?”

‘No legal merit in the case’

Accusing the BJP of weaponising investigative agencies, Kumar said, “The ED is not the Enforcement Directorate anymore. It is the Extortion Department of the BJP. Its conviction rate is not even 1 per cent. They take action against 100 people, and still no one is punished.”

There is no legal aspect to the National Herald case, it is a “political conspiracy”, he said.

Kumar argued that the case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), lacks merit as no financial transaction was involved between the entities concerned.

“The law under which the case has been filed applies where there is borrowing of money. But in this case, there was no borrowing,” Kumar said, adding that both companies involved, including the one managing the National Herald, are non-profit organisations.

Kumar also questioned the BJP’s claims of alleged property misuse in the National Herald case.

“They say it’s a property worth thousands of crores, but all the properties are on lease except in Lucknow. It is not even the National Herald’s personal property. Then how did Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi benefit?” he asked.

The Congress leader questioned the “silence” around RSS and BJP’s finances. “Why is no one speaking about where BJP-RSS got the money to build offices in every city?” he asked.

Kumar said, “If the government has evidence, it should present it and take action and stop using agencies to silence the opposition and divert from real issues.”