Maharashtra Congress to protest summonses to Sonia, Rahul in National Herald case

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole alleged on Saturday that the BJP was misusing central agencies against Sonia and party MP Rahul Gandhi out of a political vendetta.

Patole accused the Centre of disregarding democratic principles and the Constitution. “The Modi government has turned central investigative agencies such as the CBI, the ED, the income tax department and the Narcotics Control Bureau into puppets and they are being misused to silence the Opposition. Leaders of Opposition parties across the country are being raided and action is being taken against them,” he alleged.

Patole said the BJP had been shocked to see the Congress’s enthusiasm at the party’s recently held Navsankalp Shivir in Udaipur, Rajasthan, “which is why to pressure our leaders, ED notices are being sent to them in fabricated cases”. “The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress stands firmly behind Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and we are not scared of these repression tactics used by the Modi government,” he said.

Patole said his party had been raising its voice against the BJP’s “oppressive, tyrannical and arbitrary” rule. “The Congress took to the street to hold the BJP accountable on issues such as the three agriculture laws, inflation and unemployment,” he said.

On June 13 the protest in Mumbai will be led by Patole, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and ministers Ashok Chavan, KC Padvi, Amit Deshmukh, Aslam Sheikh, Satej Patil and Vishwajit Kadam, and Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagta, among others. And in Nagpur, ministers Nitin Raut Vijay Wadettiwar, Yashomati Thakur and Sunil Kedar will lead the protest.