Congress misleading public on National Herald case, matter still in court: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of running misleading propaganda over the trial court's decision in the National Herald case and said the court refused to take cognisance of the complaint but did not set aside the case.

The case is still pending trial in the Delhi High Court, and the trial court in its order on Tuesday said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can continue its investigation, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asserted.

"The court yesterday (Tuesday) said that since it is a private complaint and no FIR has been lodged, it will not take cognisance of it. It's a technical matter. The court also said that ED can continue its investigation further. The court did not set it aside," Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a> | Delhi | BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia says, &quot;Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are accused in this trial and are out on bail. It won&#39;t be wrong to say that the most corrupt family is this fake Gandhi family. This is ‘bail-gadi’...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/87kNw0zOSQ">pic.twitter.com/87kNw0zOSQ</a></p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/2001178975155183624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"Its (National Herald) trial is still going on. Sonia Gandhi is still Accused Number-1 and Rahul Gandhi Accused Number-2," the BJP spokesperson said, alleging, "The Gandhi family thrives on deceit, deception, and propaganda."

The BJP spokesperson also lashed out at the Congress over its leader Pawan Khera accusing the "gangs of Gandhinagar" of misusing central probe agencies, and demanded an apology from him and the opposition party president Mallikarjun Kharge for such remarks.

"Every Indian, especially those in Gandhinagar, is pained by his remarks. What kind of language is this? If we were to respond in their language, the people of India call them 'dacoits of Italy'. These people come to plunder India. Without becoming a citizen, they try to cast a vote and insult Gandhinagar's honest, hardworking and patriotic people," Bhatia said.

Hitting out at the government on Tuesday, Khera said that the trial court order exposed how the "gangs of Gandhinagar" are misusing the central ED, CBI, Income Tax department and Election Commission like a "private army."

"I won't use the word government. I won't use the word prime minister. I won't say home minister. Pardon me, I will say gangs of Gandhinagar," the Congress head of the media and publicity department had told the reporters.

Bhatia also dismissed the Congress's allegation of "political vendetta" and said the National Herald case against the Gandhis was born out of a private complaint, and neither the High Court nor the Supreme Court quashed the proceedings in the matter when Sonia and Rahul Gandhi approached the courts seeking relief.

The BJP spokesperson alleged that the Gandhi family is the "most corrupt family" in politics across the world and said, "They are out on bail but still accused in the case."

Bhatia said that if anybody feels that an investigation agency is acting contrary to the law and there is a case of political vendetta, they are free to move the High Court or the Supreme Court.

He said that 14 parties had earlier moved the Supreme Court alleging that central agencies were acting contrary to the law, however, the petition was dismissed by the top court.

But the Congress hailing the trial court's order shows its "double standards," he charged.

"Today they are appreciating the judiciary just like they felt about the Election Commission when the poll results in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh came in their favour. When the poll results did not come in their favour in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi, the Election Commission became bad for them," Bhatia said.

Such double standards show the Congress has become "hollow from inside", he said.

"Since the trial in the National Herald case is yet to be over, I hope the Congress and its leaders will express similar faith in the judiciary when accused persons in the case are sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, which is possible," Bhatia added.