The Aryavarth Express
Hyderabad (Telangana):
Security arrangements were intensified in Hyderabad on Thursday ahead of a planned protest march by the Congress party against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the National Herald case.
A large contingent of police personnel was deployed at the Telangana Congress headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, and at the Telangana BJP office, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Bhavan in Nampally, to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incidents during the protest.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) had announced a protest, alleging political vendetta by the BJP-led central government against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case. TPCC President and MLC Mahesh Kumar Goud, along with other senior party leaders, is scheduled to lead a protest march from Gandhi Bhavan to the BJP office in Nampally.
Meanwhile, protests over the issue were also witnessed at the national level. Several Opposition Members of Parliament demonstrated within the Parliament premises on Wednesday, with Congress MPs holding placards bearing the slogan “Satyamev Jayate; Truth Prevails.” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor participated in the protest, accusing the government of indulging in vendetta politics through the National Herald case.
In Karnataka, Congress leaders staged protests near the Gandhi statue at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi on Wednesday, opposing the central government’s actions in the National Herald case as well as the decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar joined the demonstration.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also alleged that the National Herald case was being pursued with political motives, claiming it was aimed solely at harassing the Gandhi family. Addressing the media, Kharge said there was no factual basis for the allegations and pointed out that no First Information Report (FIR) had been registered in the case.
“They are doing this for political vendetta. This case is only to trouble the Gandhi family. There is no FIR in this case. Our slogan is ‘Satyamev Jayate,’ and we welcome the court’s judgment,” Kharge said.
On Tuesday, a Delhi court declined to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s prosecution complaint in the National Herald money-laundering case. The court ruled that proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are not maintainable in the absence of an FIR for the scheduled, or predicate, offence.
The court noted that the ED’s complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, and others was based on a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and a summoning order issued in 2014, rather than on an FIR. It held that such a private complaint cannot replace the mandatory requirement of an FIR under the PMLA framework.
