Veteran Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday urged the Union government to stop “vindictive action” against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case, following Special judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court rejecting the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) money laundering complaint.
Addressing journalists at Satyamurthy Bhavan, headquarters of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), in Chennai, the former Union Finance Minister also termed the Centre’s move to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and replace it with a new Bill as the “second killing of Mahatma Gandhi” and said his party would protest till the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was withdrawn. [President Droupadi Murmu had on Sunday granted assent to the Bill.]
On the National Herald case, Mr. Chidambaram said it was a fabricated and politically motivated charge. He alleged the ED was engaged in illegal action and no First Information Report (FIR) had been filed in the case. “There was no money transaction involved, how can anyone claim it is legal or illegal,” Mr. Chidambaram said. He contended that there was no information yet on whether the Union government had moved an appeal and if they proceeded with an appeal, it showed their lack of wisdom and they have not learnt their lessons. “We have strong arguments to put forth,” he said.
