JAIRPUR: Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday accused the BJP-led central government of pursuing a “politics of revenge” and trying to “suppress democracy” through the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in the National Herald case, which names senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress party staged a large-scale protest outside the ED office in Jaipur in response to the development.
“The Modi government is pursuing a politics of revenge against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. But attempts to silence the voice of the opposition will not succeed. Congress stands united, and our fight for truth and justice will continue,” Gehlot wrote in a social media post, calling upon party workers and citizens to join the protest.
The demonstration, led by Gehlot and Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara, began at 12 noon and saw the participation of MLAs, MPs, office-bearers and party workers in large numbers.
The city administration deployed heavy police force around the ED office to manage the protest and maintain law and order. The protest came amid heightened political tensions following ED raids on the premises of former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas in Jaipur on Tuesday in connection with a chit fund case.
Dotasara also took to X (formerly Twitter), describing the ED’s chargesheet as an act of “cowardice and pettiness”.
“The central government is trying to intimidate a family that has sacrificed for the country and is repeatedly misusing agencies for political gains,” he wrote. “The truth will not bow down. The country is with us in this fight for justice against dictatorship.”
The chargesheet filed by the ED names former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and senior leaders including Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, Sunil Bhandari of Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Pvt. Ltd. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for April 25.
