Jammu, Apr 18 (PTI) Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain on Thursday dubbed the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case and Robert Vadra’s questioning in a 2008 Haryana land deal-linked money laundering case as “vendetta politics” and said neither the party nor the Gandhis are afraid of it.

Hussain, the AICC general secretary and in-charge of J&K Affairs, said the very questions the Congress raised in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) are now being posed by the Supreme Court to the government.

“This is pure political vendetta. It is being done to divert minds and attention of the people of the country as Bihar elections are approaching and the Waqf issue is troubling them. They are being forced onto the back foot even on that,” he told reporters here.

Hussain, who arrived for the first time in Jammu after taking over as the in-charge of J&K, said “that is why they have started this vendetta politics — to divert attention”.

“In money laundering cases, money is supposed to change hands. But in this case, no money was laundered, transferred or shown in a money trail. This is a non-profit organization. They didn’t even take salaries from it,” he added.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Hussain said “they are lying and misleading people, trying to distract them from other important issues”.

The Congress will not be afraid “nor will the Gandhi family be afraid of it”, he added.

Hussain, who received a rousing reception here from the Congress leaders, including AICC national general secretary G A Mir and party unit president Tariq Hamid Qarra, welcomed the Supreme Court’s observations on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

“The amendments made to the Waqf Act are based on falsehoods. I was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). We raised many important issues in the JPC and also in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, but the government failed to respond with any valid answers to our questions,” he said.

Hitting out at the BJP government, the Congress leader said they ran a misinformation campaign across the country — defaming the Waqf Board, defaming the community and spreading lies.

“The prime minister, home minister, finance minister and minority affairs minister — all of them have openly lied. We had requested that two representatives from each side be appointed so that the truth behind all matters could be exposed,” Hussain said.

“The very questions we raised in the JPC are now being asked by the Supreme Court. Under pressure, the government sought more time. Just yesterday, the Supreme Court issued an interim order,” he added.

The Congress leader said that today, the government gave two assurances: first that they will keep “non-Muslims” on the board and second that they will take further action on Waqf until the Supreme Court decides.

“No action will be taken until the case is resolved,” he added.

Hussain said there are many provisions in the Constitution that grant special privileges to other religions, but this amendment seems to go against our community.

“We trust that once arguments are heard in the Supreme Court, a judgement will be delivered and we will follow it,” he said.

Speaking at the function, Hussain said the Congress will fight back against the renewed vendetta politics of the BJP against the top leadership which has intensified further due to the party’s renewed efforts to oppose its policies, especially in Gujarat and Bihar.

At both meetings, Hussain told senior leaders and workers that it is time to fight back against attempts by the BJP and RSS to weaken democracy and constitutional institutions by all-out efforts to threaten the opposition and its leadership.

“Congress fought against the Britishers. It will not be cowed down by the vindictive actions of the BJP and is duty-bound to safeguard democracy, democratic institutions and democratic values in the country which are under threat under the BJP regime,” he added.

Asserting the Congress’ stand on democracy, secularism and unity in diversity is clear, Hussain said, “Any assault on the Constitution will be opposed along with all like-minded secular forces at every step like the recent amendment on the Waqf Act.” Rahul Gandhi has begun to challenge it in Gujarat by holding an AICC session in Ahmedabad and on every front, he said, adding the BJP, therefore, wants to divert the country’s attention from various failures.

The Congress leader asked the cadres to be strong and united to fight back at every step to safeguard democracy, democratic culture and values.

He told senior leaders during the meeting at Asia Hotel here that he is always available to listen to the leadership of all classes and the Congress is a democratic party where differences of opinion can exist, but indiscipline shall not be allowed.

“Congress has to emerge as a strong secular voice for people of all sections as the center is ignoring the promised statehood to J&K,” he added. PTI AB AS AS AS