Assam BJP President and Member of Parliament Dilip Saikia has come down heavily on the Congress party for holding nationwide protests against the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet in the National Herald case, which names top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. In a sharp press statement released on Wednesday, Saikia dismissed the Congress protest as “a laughable attempt to defend national looters,” accusing the party of shielding its top leadership from legal scrutiny. He claimed that the Gandhis had misused their positions within the Congress to take control of assets that did not belong to them. “The National Herald case is progressing through legal channels. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi may not be behind bars, but they remain under serious investigation. Their party’s protest is not only condemnable but also undermines the foundation of justice and public accountability,” Saikia said.
He further alleged that despite four years of ongoing inquiry, the Gandhi family has failed to offer any satisfactory explanation to the investigating agencies. While acknowledging the constitutional right to protest, Saikia stated firmly that “no citizen, no matter how powerful, has the right to loot public property.” The National Herald case, according to Saikia, dates back to 1937 when the newspaper was launched with around 5,000 shareholders. After the publication was shut down in 2008, the Congress sanctioned a ₹90 crore loan to Associated Journals Limited (AJL). Later, AJL was allegedly acquired by Young Indian Pvt. Ltd., in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold 38 percent of shares. “Through this arrangement, Young Indian took over assets worth hundreds of crores, including prime land in Delhi and properties in major cities like Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Patna. And all this was done without any fair commercial transaction,” Saikia said.
He also dismissed Congress’s claim that Young Indian is a not-for-profit company meant for charitable purposes. “To this day, it has not carried out any visible charity work. Its real intention appears highly questionable,” he added. Saikia pointed out that the complaint that triggered the ED investigation was filed back in 2013, when Congress was still in power. “It is ironic. The same party which once controlled investigative agencies is now crying foul when the law catches up with its own leaders,” he said. The BJP leader also took a dig at the Congress for trying to portray the Gandhis as victims of political vendetta. “The people of India are no longer fooled. They see through these street dramas. They know who is evading justice and who is standing up for the rule of law.”
