Slap on BJP's face, says JK Cong on Delhi court rejecting ED chargesheet in National Herald case

Srinagar, Dec 17 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Wednesday welcomed a Delhi court's rejection of an Enforcement Directorate chargesheet against party leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, saying it was a "huge slap" on the BJP's face and "exposed its vendetta politics".

Addressing a press conference here, J&K Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma demanded that the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah apologise to the opposition party's leadership and the country.

The Congress leader said the court has rejected the chargesheet filed in the case with "malafide intentions" and based on "the BJP and Modi-Amit Shah's vendetta politics".

"The manufactured case could not stand in the court of law, which rejected it saying there was no case. It is a huge slap on the BJP('s face). It exposes the vendetta politics being run by the BJP and Modi against the Congress and especially the Gandhis for over a decade," Sharma said.

He said his party welcomes the court's decision and demands that the BJP, Modi and Shah apologise to the country and the Congress leadership.

Holding that cognisance of the ED's complaint in the National Herald case was "impermissible in law" as it was not founded on an FIR, the Delhi court declined to take cognisance of the complaint against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and five others.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne said an investigation and the consequent prosecution complaint (equivalent to chargesheet) pertaining to the offence of money laundering was "not maintainable" in the absence of an FIR for the offence mentioned in the schedule to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

To a question about Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's remarks that the "vote chori" protest was the Congress' individual campaign and had nothing to do with the opposition INDIA bloc, Sharma said all opposition parties should rise above their political ideologies to safeguard people's basic rights.

"The INDIA bloc was formed to stop the politics of polarisation in the country. The purpose was the same in J&K also and we succeeded in stopping the BJP. The basic purpose was to checkmate the BJP and foil their philosophy in J&K.

"Now, thousands of people have come together against 'vote chori'. But if any party wants to not accept our ideology, or if they are not convinced of, or do not see such a huge vote theft, then it can be their thinking," he said. PTI SSB DIV DIV