New Delhi/Mumbai, Apr 21 (PTI) Holding press conferences around the country, top Congress leaders on Monday launched a strong defence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, with former Union minister P Chidambaram alleging the ED was carrying out “vendetta” at the behest of its “political masters”.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress’ Delhi office, Chidambaram said the “political assault” on the integrity and reputation of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was an “abuse of power”.

He alleged the facts of the case made it clear that the Enforcement Directorate (ED), at the behest of its “political masters, is carrying on a vendetta against” the opposition party leaders.

There were no proceeds of crime and, hence, there could not be a money-laundering case and, as such, the ED has no jurisdiction in it, the senior Congress leader claimed and asserted the party would “prevail over the assault”.

“The entire Congress party will resist and fight back (against) this political assault on its leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Truth will prevail, justice will prevail, we will prevail,” he said.

Defending the Gandhis, Chidambaram said in the conversion of loan to equity that happened in the case of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and Young Indian (YI), the Congress loaned Rs 90 crore to AJL over a period of 10 to 12 years.

That loan was taken on by Young Indian and is irrecoverable, he said.

“Therefore, the loan was converted into equity,” he said and added it was a well-known instrument employed by banks.

Recently, Chidambraram said, the government of India converted a liability of Rs 36,000 crore owed by Vodafone India to it into equity.

Now, the government of India’s equity in Vodafone India is 48.99 per cent, he said.

“That loan cannot be recovered by the government of India. So, two months ago, that loan was converted into equity. Why doesn’t the ED file a money-laundering case against the government?” he asked.

Addressing a presser in Mumbai, the Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the party used the successful debt-equity conversion formula to save the National Herald newspaper, a symbol of the independence movement, and rejected the allegations of money laundering.

“Just like the British who targeted the voice of the independence movement like the National Herald and conspired against it, the BJP now wants to destroy the legacy of the freedom movement,” he alleged.

Khera asserted that the Congress would not allow the legacy of the national heroes of the independence movement to be destroyed.

Young Indian did not take over AJL, which continues to own and manage all its properties, publications and operations independently, he claimed.

Young Indian only became a shareholder after a debt-to-equity conversion was unanimously approved by AJL’s shareholders, he added.

“Its shareholders — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, the late Motilal Vora and the late Oscar Fernandes — could not and have not taken even a paisa in profits, dividends, salaries or by selling the shares,” Khera said.

He emphasised that all rent, property and income belonged to AJL and not Young Indian or its shareholders.

The income is being used to run AJL’s newspaper and media operations, according to the company’s mandate, he added.

Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Congress general secretary Kumari Selja called the ED action a BJP conspiracy to divert people’s attention from burning issues.

“It is a BJP conspiracy. It is political revenge. Under our ‘Save Constitution’ campaign underway since last year, we will hold rallies nationwide from April 25 to 30. It will be held at the district level between May 3 and 10, at the assembly constituency level from May 11 to 17,” Selja told reporters.

AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunshi said the ED chargesheet in the case naming Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was a Centre-sponsored “political vendetta”.

Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, she alleged the BJP, its Union ministers and its social media wings were trying to malign the image of Congress leaders by terming them as “money launderers”.

She claimed not a single rupee had been transacted and that there was no basis for the allegation of money laundering.

Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar said the National Herald case was a “political conspiracy”, not a legal matter, and accused the BJP of misusing central agencies to suppress opposition voices and distract people from core issues.

Kumar said the ruling party was “weaponising” the ED — whose conviction rate, he added, was not even 1 per cent — against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as the BJP had realised the Congress would exist as long as the family existed.

“Their main agenda is to suppress the opposition voice of the country by misusing institutions like ED and divert people’s attention from basic issues,” he said.

Several other Congress leaders held press conferences in Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Imphal and Bhubaneswar and accused the BJP of indulging in “vendetta” politics in the case.

The ED had recently filed a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court in New Delhi in the National Herald case, accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore. PTI VIT MR LAL ARM BBM KA SAN ASK ASK SZM SZM