New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday slammed as “politics of vendetta and aggrandizement of power” the filing of a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case.

The senior advocate said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action was “yet another low in politics” and accused the government of trying to “settle scores” through such actions.

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others, accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore in the National Herald case.

Special judge Vishal Gogne examined the chargesheet, which was filed on April 9, on the point of cognisance and posted the matter for further proceedings on April 25.

Addressing a press conference on the issue, Sibal said, “Politics in this country has become a politics of vendetta, politics of aggrandizement of power, politics of blaming all opposition leaders of being corrupt, politics of trying to arrest all opposition leaders, politics of destabilising state governments, politics of attempting to file cases against ministers, CMs, and their relations.” The filing of this chargesheet by the ED against the Gandhi family is “yet another low in politics”, he said.

It only shows the level at which politics is sought to be conducted in this country and the mindset of those in power, the former Congress leader and Independent Rajya Sabha MP said.

“It is hateful. It doesn’t behove of a government to start doing this to settle scores. I want to know what is the crime that the Gandhi family has committed in this matter. Who have they bribed? Who have they cheated? Who has complained? “The person who has complained in the court is not a shareholder in Associated Journals Limited (AJL). Is this a PIL that is going on? What are the proceeds of crime when there are no proceeds?” Sibal posed.

He said shareholding of AJL is not proceeds of crime, and property owned by AJL shareholders have no right on that.

“What are the proceeds of this crime? Nothing. I am shocked but, of course, now in this country, we have no rule of law,” Sibal alleged.

The chargesheet also names Congress leader Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as accused. Sources said the other accused include Young Indian, Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd and Sunil Bhandari.

The chargesheet was filed under Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the ED’s special public prosecutor N K Matta.

The special court dealing with the cases of lawmakers noted the submission of the ED, which would be moving an application before the district judge for the transfer of the case related to the predicate offence for alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy and other offences, based on which the ED had started its investigation in the present matter, from another court to Judge Gogne’s court.

The ED Saturday said it has served notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore that it had attached as part of a money laundering probe linked to the Congress-controlled National Herald newspaper and the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

The ED investigation began in 2021 after a metropolitan magistrate in Patiala House courts in Delhi took cognisance of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.

The complaint, the ED said, highlighted a “criminal conspiracy” by several prominent political figures, including the first family of the Congress party led by Sonia, her MP son Rahul, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes aside from Dubey, Pitroda and a private company Young Indian for their alleged involvement in money laundering in relation to the fraudulent takeover of properties valued over Rs 2,000 crore belonging to AJL.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA rule, quit the Congress in May 2022 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party’s support. PTI ASK NSD NSD