Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, while lashing out at the BJP-led Central government, said on Tuesday that the way probe agencies are misused has never happened in the history of the country.

He accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of terrorising and targeting Opposition parties.

Advertisement

Addressing media persons here on Tuesday, he defended the Gandhi family in the National Herald case, saying all the properties of National Herald are under the control of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and efforts were being made to clear its liabilities through Young India (YI), a non-profit organization.

He alleged that Opposition leaders are being targeted by pressurising various probe agencies like the ED, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Income Tax Department.

By bringing up the nine-year-old National Herald case to target the Gandhi family, the BJP is working on its agenda to annihilate the Congress party. as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been talking of ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ (Congress-free India), he alleged.

He said the Gandhi family had immensely contributed to the freedom struggle of India.

Accusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating Opposition parties as enemies, he said the Gandhi family had played an important role right from Motilal Nehru. However, now the family members are being targeted, he lamented. “Congress ruled the country for many years after Independence and strengthened democracy,” he added.

Alleging irregularities in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, he expressed concern over the BJP’s alleged attempt at suppressing the voice of the Opposition. “The introduction of electoral bonds, he claimed, has dented the transparency of the poll process,” he claimed.