The Congress is gearing up for a massive protest when its President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi appear before the court on December 19 in the National Herald case
The Congress is gearing up for a massive protest when its President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi appear before the court on December 19 in the National Herald case.
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The party has issued orders to its units across the country to stage protests for crippling daily life. Mumbai Congress, which staged protests on Saturday, has charted out a comprehensive plan for mobilising workers on December 19.
Crippling daily life
The party’s city executive committee discussed several ways and means to execute the plan. According to party insiders, the party has decided to explore options like blocking road and railway traffic, hunger strikes and courting arrest.
“It depends how things proceed on December 19 and thereafter. We have been told to be mentally prepared to stage a massive agitation at a short notice,” said a senior Congress leader. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has accused the Gandhis of illegally acquiring property worth Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the National Herald newspaper.
The trial court had issued summons to the two leaders among others in June 2014 but they approached the Delhi High Court seeking a stay. The High Court has refused to stay the summons.
The issue
The Associated Journals Limited, the publisher of the National Herald — a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru — and its assets and liabilities were acquired by a company, Young Indian, in which the Gandhis hold more than three-fourths equity.
Refuting all charges, the Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of pursuing a political vendetta against the Gandhis.