Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Union government, accusing it of engineering a political vendetta against the Gandhi family and misusing central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to stifle opposition voices.

Calling the ED a “political recovery agency,” Shrinate cited that only 1% of the ED’s cases have resulted in conviction, while 98% of politically linked cases are against the BJP’s rivals. “This government has weaponised the ED. It has become their Election Department,” she said.

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Addressing a press conference at the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters in Raipur, Shrinate described the ED’s recent chargesheet in the National Herald case as “a calculated distraction from the Modi government’s mounting failures and a shameless misuse of investigative agencies to harass political opponents.”

“This is not about corruption. This is about crushing India’s only credible opposition. Every member of the Gandhi family, whether in politics or not, is being targeted. The National Herald case is based on falsehoods and legal distortions,” Shrinate asserted.

She claimed the chargesheet filed by the ED on 9 April underscores the lack of evidence. “If there was anything substantive, the government wouldn’t have waited till the last moment. This reeks of political desperation,” she added.

Shrinate also offered a detailed historical account of the National Herald newspaper and the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), tracing their roots to India’s freedom movement. She clarified that the transformation of AJL’s unpaid debt into equity through the non-profit Young Indian Limited was legal and transparent. “No money was laundered, no property transferred, and not a rupee was gained by any director or shareholder,” she emphasised.

Responding to BJP’s allegations about AJL’s assets, she dismissed the oft-cited figure of Rs 5,000 crore as “fictional,” asserting that even the Income Tax Department has valued the properties at Rs 413 crore, all tied to media operations.

She compared the AJL restructuring with corporate bailouts approved by the BJP government. “If Baba Ramdev can take over debt-laden Ruchi Soya, or the government can write off Vodafone’s dues, why is the Congress being vilified for reviving a national legacy like the National Herald?” she asked. The Congress party, she said, remains undeterred. “This is not just about a newspaper. This is about India’s soul, its democratic ethos, and the right to dissent. We will not be silenced,” Shrinate asserted.