'Ek chawanni chaandi ki ... ': BJP's poetic jibe at Sonia, Rahul Gandhi over National Herald case

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party drew a sharp contrast between the Congress during Mahatma Gandhi's era and its present-day leadership, invoking the ongoing National Herald case involving Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. The comments came in as the Enforcement Directorate made submissions before the court noting that a "prima facie" case of money laundering had been made out against Congress leaders.

"There was a time when Congress was the Congress of Mahatma Gandhi, where the membership fee was just four annas. The slogan used to be ‘Ek chawanni chaandi ki, Jai bolo Mahatma Gandhi ki.’ And now, under the leadership of the modern-day Gandhis, not just the country, even the property of the party seems to belong to them," BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said.


BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla also hit out at the two leaders saying, "Loota hai toh lautana hai...Today, there is all evidence of how beneficial interest from Rs 5000 crore worth of public property was directed to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi."



Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has begun hearing opening arguments from the ED on the cognisance of its prosecution complaint against Sonia, Rahul and others in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, representing the ED, argued that the offence of money laundering was clearly established, citing the existence of proceeds of crime and alleging continued criminal activity to generate such proceeds.

The investigative agency initiated its investigation in 2021, following a magistrate court’s cognisance of a private complaint filed by Swamy on June 26, 2014. The agency recently filed its chargesheet in the case.