National Herald case: Congress workers protest against ED in Rajasthan
Jaipur: Congress workers in Rajasthan, under the leadership of state chief Govind Singh Dotasra, marched to gherao the BJP headquarters in Jaipur and courted arrest protesting against the ED and alleged that it was harassing and intimidating opposition leaders.
The protest was attended by Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully, Congress MLAs, District Congress Committee Presidents, senior party leaders, and a large number of workers.
Addressing the gathering, Govind Singh Dotasra said that since the BJP came to power at the Centre, constitutional institutions have been systematically misused to suppress the voices of opposition leaders, which is a direct assault on democratic values.
He said that, acting on a politically motivated and baseless complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, the ED initiated proceedings against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and subjected them to unnecessary and prolonged questioning.
“BJP leaders have repeatedly made false and misleading allegations against the Congress and its leadership for narrow political gains,” he said.
Dotasra further stated that the court did not even find it appropriate to take cognisance of the ED’s charge sheet in the National Herald case, clearly exposing the political malice behind the misuse of constitutional institutions.
He recalled that the National Herald newspaper was founded in 1937 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to raise the voice of the nation against British colonial rule. For this purpose, Associated Journals Limited (AJL) was established in 1937–38 as a public-interest entity, from which no individual could derive any personal profit or dividend.
“When AJL later faced financial difficulties in paying employee salaries and retirement benefits, the Congress party extended a loan of Rs 90 crore to ensure the continuation of this historic institution,” he said.
He also added that, as AJL was unable to repay the loan, a not-for-profit company, Young Indian Limited, was formed, and shares equivalent to the loan amount were transferred to settle AJL’s liabilities.
“Neither AJL nor Young Indian Limited could distribute profits to any individual, nor could AJL’s assets be transferred. In fact, AJL owned only one property in Lucknow, while other premises were taken on rent. Despite these facts, the Modi government, driven by political animosity, initiated ED proceedings against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
He said that, however, the ED’s case failed to stand judicial scrutiny, and the court declined to take cognisance of the charge sheet, once again exposing the BJP’s misuse of power to target opposition leaders.
Dotasra asserted that Congress leaders and workers, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, will continue to fight fearlessly to protect democracy and the Constitution.
He said that no matter how much the BJP misuses constitutional institutions, the Congress will wage a determined struggle against the authoritarian policies of the BJP government at the Centre, just as it fought against British rule during India’s freedom movement.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary and Media Chairperson, Swarnim Chaturvedi, stated that in protest against the prolonged harassment of the top Congress leadership through the misuse of agencies such as the ED, District Congress Committees across all district headquarters in Rajasthan organised demonstrations against the BJP-led Central Government.
