New Delhi [India]: The Congress party has announced a nationwide campaign titled “Congress Truths, BJP Lies”, aimed at countering what it alleges is a politically motivated Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet against senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.
The party will hold press conferences in 57 cities from April 21 to 27, led by prominent Congress figures. This effort is positioned as a rebuttal to what the party terms a BJP-led attempt to “erase the legacy” of The National Herald, a publication founded during India’s freedom movement.
Pawan Khera, Chairman of the AICC Media & Publicity Department, described the ED’s chargesheet as an “anti-national effort” and claimed it was part of the BJP’s “lies and vendetta politics.”
“From Vijayawada to Varanasi, from Kashmir to Thiruvananthapuram — Congress leaders are fanning out across India to expose BJP’s lies and anti national efforts to kill the living monument of the freedom struggle – The National Herald,” Khera posted on X.
The press conference schedule includes:
- P Chidambaram in Delhi
- Shashi Tharoor in Lakshadweep
- Ashok Gehlot in Shimla
- Manickram Tagore in Vijayawada
- Supriya Shrinate in Raipur
- Randeep Surjewala in Hyderabad
- Manish Tewari in Chandigarh
- Alka Lamba in Varanasi
- Pawan Khera in Mumbai, among others.
The campaign runs parallel to the upcoming ‘Save Constitution’ (Samvidhan Bachao) initiative, which begins April 25 and extends through May 30. It was formally announced following a strategy meeting led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, with general secretaries, PCC in-charges, and heads of frontal organizations in attendance.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh elaborated on the structure of the campaign:
- April 25–30: State-level ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ rallies
- May 3–10: District-level rallies
- May 11–17: Campaigns across 4,500 assembly segments
- May 20–30: Door-to-door outreach
“This is not a legal issue, but a political issue smacking of political vendetta, politics of persecution, intimidation and fear mongering,” Ramesh stated, adding that the BJP government is “misusing the ED” to target Congress leaders.
The ED filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) on April 15 against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and others including Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey, under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The complaint stems from a case initiated by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, and pertains to alleged money laundering through entities associated with The National Herald newspaper.
The Congress maintains that the case is an act of political persecution, part of a broader disinformation and intimidation strategy by the BJP.