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Once again, the National Herald case is at the forefront of political dissent! The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on a trial court order authorising the Income Tax Department to investigate the National Herald newspaper’s operations and assess Sonia and Rahul’s taxes.
Following Rahul Gandhi’s meticulous and onerous grilling, the ED recently concluded its questioning of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case.
The Gandhi family is being questioned about its ownership of Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) and its shareholding pattern in Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that runs the National Herald newspaper.
The Gandhi family believes and propagates that Bharat’s “tryst with destiny” began on the eve of August 15, 1947, “at the stroke of midnight”.
Unsurprising to the layperson and “party leaders” conversant with the developments of the case, or more often than not, the oblivious and unwitting party workers, protests were staged in various parts of the country under the pretext of “political vendetta” and “harassment.” It is as difficult as stupefying to assert with conviction the motive of the arsonists: either flattery or compulsion.
The perpetual and untiring efforts of the elusive Gandhis — first son, then mother — in evading the investigation entailing the vandalism by the Congress leaders and workers in front of the ED and arson in various parts of the nation in the name of “democratic protests” is nothing short of a sheer display of muscle-flexing exercise and sabre-rattling to arm-twist the investigating agency. So much so that the central agency was tormented as an idiot, and the ED director was called the “idiot director”!
One feels violated as a taxpayer, a voter, and most indispensably, as a citizen. Many Congress leaders accused of various charges cooperated with the agencies, and even when the Congress abused power to sabotage and vilify the then Gujarat CM and current PM Narendra Modi, no drama occurred. But it seems like medieval dynasts are obstinate about crushing constitutional agencies and the ethos of law at the cost of our integrity and the country at large.
Is this coherent with the idea of India envisioned by Netaji Bose, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar, and the multitude of freedom fighters who gave the ultimate sacrifice to extricate Bharat from foreign invaders? Is this how civil servants are to be treated for fulfilling their duty with due honesty? Are the Nehru-Vadra-Gandhis greater than the law of the land?
In a very well-known phrase, “We reject the truth; only then are we vanquished by the truth,” said Rabindranath Tagore.
The Indian Constitution stipulates that, rather than emerging from someone’s womb, the king of this nation (President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, etc.) would be chosen through the ballot box. The custom of making the king from the womb is a thing of the past. However, there are still some people in this nation who are misinformed.
When the law is taking its due course, and the ED is sagaciously interrogating the Nehru-Vadra-Gandhi dynasts while assiduously and prudently considering the precarious situation it has caused, why should they not conform? Why this unprecedented, unwanted, and unwarranted arson? Why is the Nehru clan regarded, or at least purported to be holier-than-thou by the ‘ecosystem’? Why are the leaders of the Congress incensed? Why do they not trust the country’s judicial system and investigative agencies? Are the Nehru-Vadra-Gandhis impregnable when it comes to the law of the land?
Noteworthy, it is the list of tall leaders that the ED summoned include Farooq Abdulla of the National Conference, Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar, Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik of the Nationalist Congress Party, P Chidambaram and his progeny, Karti, Satyendra Jain of the Aam Aadmi Party, and the list goes on.
Even then Gujarat CM, Modi cooperated and complied with agencies in the wake of 2022 Gujarat riots and after years of vituperation and smearing the anti-India ecosystem, he has been absolved and vindicated. It is tragicomedy that the family that imposed a national emergency, shunning the constitutional rights of the citizens and probably one of the eeriest chapter in the history of democracies; the family that indulged in superfluous corruption and plethora of scams that allegedly compromised national security probably; the family whose current heirs, the mother-son duo are out on bail in the National Herald cries victim!
Hogging headlines for reasons that doesn’t strike a chord with the populace is a case of misplaced priority, clearly! It is imperative on the side of the opposition parties and not just the ruling party to let the agencies carry out their duties. By creating such a fuss, the Congress leadership is (mis)guiding its cadres to deliberate and wanton vandalism.
Additionally, in rejoinder to the question of cooperating with the ongoing investigation/s, the question they raise of the ED not acting against the BJP leaders is not short of a pot calling the kettle black. This whataboutery has not bode well for the Congress during these years.
Barring the current disruptions that hinders the Lok Sabha sessions, the Congress needs to reinvent and reinvigorate itself for Bharat needs a better and a strong opposition for a better and smooth functioning of the Parliament.
Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. Dr Mahender Thakur is a columnist and social activist. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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