Swamy accused the Gandhis and some other Congress party leaders of illegally acquiring assets of the now-shut National Herald English-language newspaper, a charge the defendants deny.
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Maybe, that’s what happens when a party becomes a family fiefdom: the idea of the Gandhis in court is seen as sacrilege by Congress loyalists who must mark their attendance in a classic display of sycophancy.
The Gandhis together with the opposite accused in the National Herald case appeared earlier than Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen in response to summons issued towards them.
While the party had summoned all 45 Lok Sabha and 67 Rajya Sabha MPs, former MPs, state leaders, party veterans, and former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Gehlot were also present.
Amidst all the kerfuffle over National Herald, Congress treasurer Motilal Vora has been quietly shortlisting names for a hands-on editor who will be able to attract a “bright” team for the publication. After being granted bail, the Gandhis came out of the court room along with their advocates Kapil Sibal, Ramesh Gupta and Congress leaders.
The activists led by Ongole City Congress president Sripathi Prakasam marched from the HCM Girls College to the Ambedkar statue by covering their mouths with black clothes to register their protest against what they called “political vendetta” by the ruling BJP-led NDA at the Centre.
“I went (to court) with a clean heart like any law-abiding citizen”.
Surjewala also said that the Congress Party won’t bow down in front of the political vendetta of Prime Minister Modi, Subramanian Swamy or the BJP.
Swamy rubbished the allegations, while BJP leader Muqtar Abbas Naqvi said his party had nothing to do with the case. “I want to tell everyone I – and the Congress party – will not bend, we will fight”, said Mr Gandhi yesterday.
If the buildup had happened over a fortnight, the court proceedings were over in a matter of five minutes. “Our struggle for Congress policies and in the interest of the poor will continue”, said Sonia.
With the case unlikely to get over any time soon, it gives Congress enough fodder to keep the pot boiling against the Modi government for a significant period of time.
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Responding to Congress’s criticism over the extension of “Z” category security to him, Swamy today said it was during former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure that he was provided this protection, which was later curtailed by the UPA government.
