Congress to step up attack on government in Parliament after raid on Herald House

Congress is likely to seek suspension of business in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the raids in National Herald premises

Congress will up the ante against the misuse of central agencies inside and outside Parliament on Wednesday after searches in ‘National Herald’.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge decided to skip Siddaramaiah’s birthday bash in Karnataka and stay in the capital to visit Herald House and stand in solidarity with employees.

The party is likely to seek suspension of business in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the raids in National Herald premises in the capital and elsewhere, which came a week after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former president Rahul Gandhi among others.

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Congress views it as an attempt to “frighten” the Opposition, with the action coming close on the heels of senior Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s arrest in Maharashtra. The Opposition has been raising the issue of misuse of CBI, ED and Income Tax Department to target non-BJP leaders.

The stepping up of attack comes as the Opposition plans to issue a joint statement against the recent Supreme Court judgement, which endorses the sweeping powers enjoyed by the ED through amendments made by the Modi government. The statement is likely to be issued on Wednesday.

Kharge, who was to fly to Karnataka’s Davanagere with Rahul to attend the 75th birthday celebrations of senior leader Siddaramaiah, decided to stay back in the capital and lead the Congress charge on the issue by raising the issue in Parliament and meeting employees of National Herald at the Herald House on Wednesday. He was to leave Delhi on Tuesday evening with Rahul, sources said.

Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal visited Herald House on Tuesday evening.

“The attempt is to trouble and malign the Congress. This is not good for democracy. They want to create fear. The Congress is not going to bow down,” Kharge said.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal tweeted, “by sending ED to raid Herald House, the Modi government has shown that it can go to any lengths for its vendetta politics. They think they can divert and distract the people from BJP's failures. They think they can intimidate us. But we will not cower to BJP’s vendetta.”

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "the raids on Herald House, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg are a part of the continued attack against India’s principal opposition — Indian National Congress. We strongly condemn this vendetta politics against those who speak up against the Modi government. You cannot silence us!" (ENDS)