Congress trying to mislead people in National Herald case: BJP

Panaji: The Goa BJP on Thursday accused the Congress of trying to mislead people in the National Herald case by claiming to be the victim, and said the ruling party will reach out to the masses to make them aware of this multi-crore "scam".

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

The prosecution complaint was filed on April 9 under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED investigation began in 2021 after a metropolitan magistrate in Patiala House courts in Delhi took cognisance of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.

The Congress on Wednesday held protests outside the ED offices across the country over the chargesheet and alleged the action against its leaders showed panic and moral bankruptcy of the "despotic" government which wanted to divert attention from public issues and economic crisis.

Addressing a press conference, Goa BJP president Damodar Naik said, "The Congress is trying to mislead people by claiming to be the victim in the National Herald case, which is not true." The BJP will go door-to-door with pamphlets, explaining to people about this multi-crore "scam" and the alleged role of the Gandhi family and Congress party, he said.

The National Herald case was filed following a complaint by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy when the Congress-led UPA was in power, he said.

"The Congress leaders unsuccessfully tried to get respite from lower courts and the Supreme Court," Naik said.

In this case, the Congress was found to be laundering money. The Congress was treating all properties of the country as its personal assets, he alleged.

Naik claimed the National Herald "scam" is of Rs 2,500 crore.

The Congress is issuing threatening statements against the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department, which is condemnable, he charged.