Ranchi: Marandi accuses Congress of misleading public on National Herald case

Jharkhand BJP president and Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi on Wednesday accused the Congress of misleading the public over the National Herald case, terming the party’s protest a reflection of what he described as political and moral bankruptcy.

Speaking to the media, Marandi said the Congress party was indulging in “baseless rhetoric” to obscure alleged corruption. He maintained that the recent order of the Rouse Avenue Court did not grant a clean chit to Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi. “The court has only stated that no FIR has been registered at this stage, while clearly holding that the matter remains under consideration and that the trial will continue,” he said.

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He described the National Herald case as one involving alleged fraud, pointing out that the charges attract penal provisions under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, which carry a maximum punishment of seven years. He recalled that the Congress leadership had earlier approached both the High Court and the Supreme Court but failed to obtain relief, with both courts declining to quash the proceedings after observing that the matter appeared serious at the preliminary stage.

Rejecting the Congress claim that the case was driven by political vendetta, the BJP leader said such arguments had already been dismissed by the courts. He alleged that the National Herald building was an undisputed prime property in Delhi that had been commercially leased, and claimed the case involved assets valued at around Rs 2,000 crore. “The issue has not ended. Those found guilty will not be spared under the law,” he said.

He further accused the Congress of adopting contradictory positions on judicial decisions. “When verdicts go against them in higher courts, they question the judiciary. Now they are attempting to create confusion by misrepresenting the Rouse Avenue Court order,” he said.

Marandi also raised concerns over the Congress protest outside the BJP state office. While acknowledging the democratic right to demonstrate, he alleged that the police remained passive and allowed Congress leaders to reach the gates of the BJP office despite barricading. He claimed this indicated that the police administration was functioning under political influence.

He warned that the situation could have escalated had BJP workers not exercised restraint and demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident, urging the state government to take action against officials responsible for the alleged lapse.