BJP trains guns on Nehru-Gandhi family over ITAT order

Emboldened by the Income Tax Tribunal's order on Friday rejecting the plea of Gandhis to withdraw the I-T department's decision to scrap the 'charitable' status of Young Indian Ltd, the BJP launched a direct attack on Nehru Gandhi family, alleging “family and commerce run hand in hand”.

“There is no end to the stories of the family. We had thought that since it is already more than five and a half years since we came to power, the stories emerging about the family will come to an end. But the IT tribunal order has brought out yet another story that proves in the Congress, family, and commerce (parivar and vyapar) run hand-in-hand,” Law Minister and senior BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters at a press conference.

On Friday, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) turned down Rahul Gandhi's appeal against the I-T department's earlier decision to withdraw from the retrospective effect the 'charitable' status of Young Indian, in which Sonia and Rahul hold 76 % share.

Young India had received the transfer of the shares of AJL, which owned the National Herald newspaper.

”Jawaharlal Nehru had started the National Herald newspaper, which stopped in 2008. Even after that, Rs 90 crore was given to the paper, and government property worth Rs 2,000 crore were handed to it. Transferring the shares of AJL to Young India formed in 2010 was nothing but a clandestine and surreptitious transfer of lucrative interests in the premises to Young India,” alleged Prasad.

“The truth regarding the family that highlights its legacy and its contribution to the Independence struggle is out for everyone to see. The BJP condemns this palpable, dubious transaction of undue enrichment. It is simply corruption. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should stop talking about corruption. The veil has been uplifted by the Court's decision,” Prasad said.

He further alleged “after the Vadra Model of Development, this is the Family Model of Development."

The attack by the BJP on the first family of the Congress comes at a time when the ruling party has already launched a nationwide offensive against Rahul Gandhi, seeking his apology after the Supreme Court for the second time dismissed demand for a probe in Rafale deal.

The court also expressed its displeasure over Rahul's attribution of the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ (the watchman is the thief) remark to the apex court, and asked him to be “more cautious” in future.

The BJP has revived the attack on alleged corruption at the Congress, at a time when the Opposition parties have mounted criticism on the government on issues of economic slowdown and rising unemployment.

Training the guns on the BJP over issues like economic slowdown, farmers’ distress and huge unemployment, Congress has lined up district-level and state-level agitations against the Centre's "anti-people policies" and will hold a ‘Bharat Bachao Rally’ on November 30.