Seizure of National Herald assets by ED is payment for Gandhi family’s “sins” says BJP

BJP: Gandhi family paying for "sins" after ED seizes National Herald assets. Congress decries action, BJP says it's paying for corruption, misuse of power. ED probe began on private complaint before Modi govt. took office. PM Modi questioned by probe agencies in 2002 Gujarat riots, came out unscathed.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday termed the seizure of the assets of National Herald by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as the Gandhi family paying for its “sins” after the Congress decried the seizure that took place late on Tuesday evening.

Addressing a presser at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the Congress to explain how the action taken against the “rank dishonesty and loot of public property” could be described as a negation of democracy. “You think that you keep looting but no action should be taken. The family must pay for its sins, corruption and misuse of power,” he said.

After the ED attached assets of the Congress-promoted National Herald on Tuesday, the Congress had described the act as “petty vendetta tactics” which “cannot frighten” the party. The Congress also dubbed the probe agency a “coalition partner” of the BJP. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal had slammed the BJP and the probe agencies as “murderers of democracy”.

Rejecting the Congress’s claim that the ED action was an outcome of the BJP’s frustration as it was losing in the current round of assembly elections, Mr. Prasad claimed that it was the Congress which would be defeated soundly. He noted that the National Herald case probe began on a private complaint well before before the Modi government took office in 2014.

“Both [Congress leaders] Sonia Gandhi and Rahul are facing cheating and forgery charges and are currently on bail,” he noted and cited the trial court’s critical observations about the allegations against them to make his point.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also questioned by probe agencies in cases related to the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the Chief Minister. “BJP workers did not carry out protests. He [Mr. Modi] came out unscathed,” the BJP leader said.