From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, June 16: All the State Congress leaders under the leadership of KPCC Chief D K Shivakumar and party opposition leaders in both the houses of State Legislature Siddaramaiah and B K Hariprasad took out a massive protest march from the party office on Queens Road to Raj Bhavan to lay siege to Raj Bhavan in city on June 16, Thursday, registering their anguish over the continued questioning of party leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case.

A massive police contingent, closely monitoring the protest march and clamping a tight security cordon around Raj Bhavan, took all the protesting Congress leaders near the Balekundri Circle including former chief minister M Veerappa Moily, former deputy chief minister Dr G Parameshwar, KPCC working presidents Saleem Ahmed, Dinesh Gundru Rao, Dhruvanarayan, former ministers P T Parameshwar Naik, H C Mahadevappa and others.

Addressing the media representatives before being taken by the police into custody, KPCC Chief Shivakumar condemned the harassment of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over a trumped case in respect of the National Herald started by the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as part of the ruling BJP’s vendetta politics against its political opponents.

The Narendra Modi government has taken upon itself to harass the Congress leaders after the announcement of launching the Kashmir to Kanyakumari ‘’Bharat Jodo’’ campaign fearing that it may affect its popularity and thereby attempting to denigrate the sacrifices and struggles of Congress leaders for the country.

“The Nehru family has donated Rs 20,000 crore worth of property in Allahabad for the country. The Congress party has never claimed the Young India and National Herald publications were its property. It is the property of Congress workers and the publications are run to propagate the party’s policies and ideologies. The Gandhi family and other party leaders are discharging the responsibility of running the publications,’’ he said.

Shivakumar pointed out that Nehru took a leading part in the freedom struggle and underwent years of imprisonment. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have laid their lives for the country. The Congress party would not silently suffer the insult and harassment to the Gandhi family or attempts to besmirch the family’s legacy, he said condemning the police high handedness of entering the Congress party office.
The KPCC President said Nehru, Sardar Patel, Purushotham Tandon, Acharya Narendra Dev, Rafi Ahmed were among the prominent leaders who launched the National Herald way back in 1937 through the Associated Journals Ltd Company, Shivakumar said explaining that the party paid a loan of Rs 90 crore to the company during the years 2002 and 2011 in 100 instalments. As much as Rs 67 crore out of the Rs 90 crore was utilized for payment of salaries and VRS to the employees and the balance was spent towards establishment costs.

The BJP is acting as the lending of money to the National Herald by the Congress party is a crime, which speaks of its mean mentality, Shivakumar said and made it clear that political party lending money is not a crime under Indian law.

The National Herald and Young India publications are not-for-profit entities, the KPCC Chief said and contended that there was nothing illegal and criminal in the financial transactions.

Shivakumar said Rahul Gandhi had answered all questions of ED for three days and there is no need to harass him further for questioning. “We are determined to fight the injustice and political vendetta by the BJP and the Modi government,’’ he said asserting that Rahul Gandhi will come out unscathed despite the witch hunting.

Protest for ED inquiry into corruption case is Congress tragedy: CM

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who spoke to reporters in Davangere, said it was unfortunate and a tragedy that the Congress party leaders are protesting ED inquiry in a corruption case and condemned the Congress party’s protests to lay siege to Raj Bhavan.

“If the situation and Congress protests continue, we (BJP) may have to launch our own ‘return to your homes’ campaign against Congressmen,’’ he warned.

Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar criticized the Congress party for “flouting all Constitutional norms” even though everybody has a right to protest in a democracy. It is unfortunate that an inquiry into a corruption case is objected, he said and wondered why Congress party did not protest when Dalit leader Mallikarjuna Kharge was interrogated by the ED in the same case.