Gautam Buddh Nagar:
Following a court’s refusal to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet filed in the National Herald case, the Gautam Buddh Nagar District Congress Committee staged a strong protest outside the district BJP office on Thursday. The Congress alleged that the decision has exposed what it termed as a political conspiracy by the Modi government to target opposition leaders through central investigative agencies.
The protest was organised after the court declined to take cognisance of the ED chargesheet against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case. Congress leaders claimed that the judicial decision has made it clear that the case was driven by political vendetta and aimed at defaming opposition leaders by implicating them in what they described as false and fabricated cases. According to the Congress, the court’s refusal to proceed with the chargesheet has laid bare the alleged misuse of constitutional institutions by the central government.
In protest against what it called the “misuse of power and agencies,” hundreds of Congress workers, under the banner of the District Congress Committee, marched from Tilpata Chowk towards the district BJP office amid heavy police deployment. The procession was stopped near the BJP office on Main Dadri Road, where Congress workers held a loud and aggressive demonstration.
Holding placards and raising slogans such as “Save Democracy,” “Stop Misuse of ED and CBI,” “Opposition Cannot Be Silenced Through False Cases,” “Satyamev Jayate,” and “Truth May Be Harassed But Not Defeated,” the protesters accused the Modi government of adopting authoritarian methods to suppress dissent. The demonstration led to a tense situation in the area, following which police officials intervened and restricted the movement of protesters. Traffic on both sides of the road was also halted temporarily as a precautionary measure.
Addressing the gathering, Congress National Secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Pradeep Narwal said that the National Herald case was politically motivated from the very beginning. He alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have consistently raised issues concerning the common people, which, according to him, has unsettled the Modi government. Narwal claimed that out of political fear, central agencies such as the ED were misused to harass opposition leaders. He said the court’s decision has proved that truth stands with the Congress, while those indulging in lies and conspiratorial politics have been exposed.
Narwal further stated that the verdict has unmasked the central government’s alleged policy of intimidation and political vendetta. He asserted that the Congress will continue to raise its voice against any attempt to undermine democratic institutions and silence the opposition.
Leading the protest, Gautam Buddh Nagar District Congress Committee President Deepak Bhati Chotiwala accused the Modi government of tearing apart democratic norms and attempting to intimidate opposition parties. He said that the Congress party would neither be frightened nor bow down to such pressure tactics. Bhati warned that if the alleged misuse of central agencies is not stopped, the Congress will intensify its movement across the country to safeguard democracy.
He also remarked that several former leaders of the ruling party, during their tenure, had contributed to strengthening democratic values and standards. However, he alleged that due to political animosity, the present government has caused serious damage to parliamentary traditions and constitutional values.
A large number of Congress leaders and workers participated in the protest, including Ajay Chaudhary, Mukesh Sharma, Sandeep Nagar, Ashok Pandit, Radha Rani, Ajay Pehlwan, Neeraj Lohiya, Gautam Awana, Arvind Rexwal, Kailash Bansal, Mohammad Taki, Ramesh Valmiki, Habib, Shiv Chautala, Naresh Sharma, Amit Kumar, Satish Sharma, Puneet Mavi, Nitish Chaudhary, Ramesh Yadav, Tanveer Ahmed, Vasil Ahmed, Kapil Bhati, Ruby Chauhan, Sachin Jainwal, Vipin Tyagi, Dayanand Nagar, Gajan Pradhan, Binnu Bhati, Dr Ratanpal, Mohit Bhati, Sachin Bhati, Rupesh Bhati, Upendra Singh, Jitendra Singh, Satish Khari, Omveer Nagar, Goldy Kasana, Kapil Khari, Pankaj Tanwar, Monu Yadav, Abhinay Sharma, Saurabh Tanwar, Praveen Tanwar, K K Bhati, Amit Bhati, Bhupendra Bhati and Dinesh Sharma, among others.
The District Congress Committee said the protest was part of its continued campaign to oppose what it described as the central government’s attempts to weaken democratic institutions and target opposition leaders through investigative agencies. The party reiterated that it would continue to organise similar demonstrations in the future to protect constitutional values and democratic rights.
