'Petty vendetta tactics' of BJP's 'coalition partner' amid polls: Congress on ED action against National Herald

After the ED attached assets of the party-promoted National Herald newspaper, the Congress on Tuesday said such ''petty vendetta tactics'' cannot frighten it and dubbed the probe agency a ''coalition partner'' of the BJP.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that staring at defeat in the assembly elections in five states, the BJP is misusing probe agencies against the party.

''This pattern of misuse of agencies during elections by the BJP establishment is not new and now stands fully exposed before the entire nation,'' he said in a post on X.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the property attachment order reflected the BJP's desperation to divert attention from its certain defeat in the ongoing assembly polls.

''No BJP coalition partner - CBI, ED or I-T Department - can prevent the impending defeat of the BJP.... These petty vendetta tactics shall not frighten the Indian National Congress in any way,'' he said in a statement.

''An assignment of loan without transfer of any immovable property or movement of money is being dressed up to justify attachment and freezing of assets of a company which runs an iconic voice of the Indian independence movement - the National Herald - only because it is linked to the Congress party and its legacy,'' he said.

The Congress leader said the action of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was aimed at diverting people's attention in the middle of polls.

Reports of attachment of AJL's properties by the Enforcement Directorate are a clear indication of the BJP's panic in the ongoing elections, he said.

''There are no proceeds of crime. Indeed, there is no complainant who claims to have been cheated: not a single one!! This is a prefabricated structure of deceit, lies and falsehood, of, by and for the BJP, to divert, distract and digress in the middle of elections,'' he said.

In his social media post, Congress president Kharge said, ''Staring at defeat in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram, the BJP Government feels compelled to misuse its agencies. This attempt too will fail and the BJP will be defeated in the polls.'' Kharge recalled Jawaharlal Nehru's quote on the masthead of the newspaper - “Freedom is in peril, Defend it with all your might” - and said the party will continue to fight for the ideals on which India's democratic republic is founded.

''The Indian National Congress has full faith in the wisdom of the people of India to see through this nefarious game,'' he said.

In a statement, the ED said a provisional attachment order has been issued by the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) and Young Indian (YI).

The ED said it has issued the order to provisionally attach properties worth Rs 751.9 crore in the money laundering case being investigated by it.

The federal probe agency also alleged in the statement that the shareholders and donors of the Congress were ''cheated'' by the office-bearers of AJL and the party.

The National Herald is published by AJL and owned by Young Indian Private Limited. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian, holding 38 per cent shares each.