J&K Congress protests over ED action against Rahul, Sonia in National Herald case

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra, along with other party leaders, on Wednesday led a protest demonstration against the Central Government over the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the 2014 National Herald case.

AICC general secretary and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader GA Mir also participated in the protest.

Hundreds of Congress activists and leaders, led by Karra, assembled at the party headquarters at Shaheedi Chowk and began marching on the main road. However, a strong contingent of police stopped them from moving forward.

The slogan-shouting protesters, including former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Vikar Rasool Wani, and former ministers Raman Bhalla and Yogesh Sawhney, tried to jump over the barricades but were pushed back by the police, officials said.

The ED on Tuesday stated that it had filed a chargesheet on April 9 in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. Besides Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the chargesheet also names Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as co-accused.

Speaking to reporters during the demonstration, JKPCC chief Karra lashed out at the BJP-led government, accusing it of political vendetta. “The ED chargesheet reflects the political vendetta against the grand old party ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections,” he said.

Criticising the police action, Karra said that democracy allows citizens the right to protest, but “this government once again showed that it does not believe in democracy by stopping our march.”

He dismissed the ED chargesheet as a “conspiracy” against the Congress and said the party would not be cowed down by such actions. “The BJP stands exposed before the people of the country, and the Congress will only emerge stronger with each passing day,” he added.

He further said that since the National Herald newspaper was started by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to fight for India’s freedom, “the BJP is jealous of its legacy. No profit has been earned, and no illegality is involved. Facts have been concocted to frame the case only to target the Gandhi family,” Karra asserted.