Hyderabad: Top Congress leaders and ministers from Telangana on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre, accusing it of misusing central agencies to malign the Gandhi family, as they staged a protest in front of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office at Basheerbagh in Hyderabad.
The protest — part of a nationwide agitation called by the Congress high command — saw participation from a host of prominent figures, including Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud, and several cabinet ministers and legislators. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, currently on an official visit to Japan, was absent.
The demonstration was triggered by the ED’s chargesheet filed against former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.
Calling the chargesheet a “clear act of political vendetta,” TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud lashed out at the BJP, stating, “The BJP is resorting to political vendetta because it is rattled by the success of the recent AICC session in Gujarat. It is using central agencies to target Rahul Gandhi and tarnish his image.”
Several ministers echoed this sentiment. Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar alleged that the BJP was “running the government with the help of the CBI and ED,” and warned that this brand of politics was dangerous for democracy. He added, “The Gandhi family has made immense sacrifices for the nation. The people of this country will stand with them.”
Congress leaders reiterated their confidence in the judiciary and maintained that the Gandhi family would emerge clean. “We have full faith in the judiciary. The truth will prevail,” said senior Congress leader and former MP V. Hanumantha Rao, who had also held a protest at the ED office a day earlier.
