Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM DK Shivakumar on Monday called the enforcement directorate (ED) FIR against AICC leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case as BJP’s vendetta politics and the party’s way of harassing political opponents.
This pattern of intimidation by the BJP reflects fear, not strength, Siddaramaiah told mediapersons. He would stand firmly with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi at this difficult moment, he added.
The National Herald was not just a newspaper, it was a symbol of our freedom struggle, of courage, sacrifice, and the voice of the common Indian. Its legacy cannot be erased with politics of vendetta, the CM added. “When institutions are repeatedly weaponised to target voices of the Opposition, it weakens the very foundations of our democracy.”
Shivakumar said the latest FIR on Gandhi’s showed BJP misusing its investigative agencies to harass Rahul Gandhi to settle political scores.
The National Herald was not a personal property of Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi. He was a shareholder by the virtue of being the party president. They own some shares in their capacity as president and the same would pass on to their successor once they demit the office. Historically, party presidents have led National Herald, the Dy CM said.
The top AICC leaders, he added, had already announced that neither Young India nor National Herald was a private property. Morarji Desai had taken certain decisions in the interest of the party. When the party was in a difficult situation during Sitaram Kesari’s time, party leaders approached Sonia Gandhi and requested her to lead the party. They are now being targeted. “History will repeat. Rahul Gandhi will not be bothered even if he is put in jail, but the vendetta politics is not good. Politics must be direct. Let’s fight elections, but not like this misusing investigative agencies,” Shivakumar said.
This pattern of intimidation by the BJP reflects fear, not strength, Siddaramaiah told mediapersons. He would stand firmly with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi at this difficult moment, he added.
The National Herald was not just a newspaper, it was a symbol of our freedom struggle, of courage, sacrifice, and the voice of the common Indian. Its legacy cannot be erased with politics of vendetta, the CM added. “When institutions are repeatedly weaponised to target voices of the Opposition, it weakens the very foundations of our democracy.”
Shivakumar said the latest FIR on Gandhi’s showed BJP misusing its investigative agencies to harass Rahul Gandhi to settle political scores.
The National Herald was not a personal property of Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi. He was a shareholder by the virtue of being the party president. They own some shares in their capacity as president and the same would pass on to their successor once they demit the office. Historically, party presidents have led National Herald, the Dy CM said.
The top AICC leaders, he added, had already announced that neither Young India nor National Herald was a private property. Morarji Desai had taken certain decisions in the interest of the party. When the party was in a difficult situation during Sitaram Kesari’s time, party leaders approached Sonia Gandhi and requested her to lead the party. They are now being targeted. “History will repeat. Rahul Gandhi will not be bothered even if he is put in jail, but the vendetta politics is not good. Politics must be direct. Let’s fight elections, but not like this misusing investigative agencies,” Shivakumar said.
