In 'traitor' jibe at Rahul Gandhi, BJP says his remarks against EC shows frustration over ED action

The BJP on Monday called Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a "traitor" for his remarks against the Election Commission and accused him of venting his frustration over ED action in the National Herald case on the poll body. The former Congress chief, who is on a visit to the US, raised questions on the BJP-led coalition's victory in the Maharashtra polls and alleged the Election Commission (EC) was compromised.

Flaying Rahul Gandhi for his remarks, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "You are venting the ire over the Enforcement Directorate (action in the National Herald case) on the Election Commission. Nothing will happen by doing so."

"The ED will not spare you because agencies work on the basis of facts and the National Herald matter is an open-and-shut case. You will not be spared. You and your mother will be caught with the proceeds of crime and sent to jail," he said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters.

Both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi will go behind bars in connection with the case, he asserted.

"You are a traitor, not just because you insult Indian institutions and Indian democracy on foreign soil but also because you and your mother embezzled crores of rupees of the country in the National Herald case. You and your mother will not be able to get away with this," Patra said.

The BJP spokesperson also lashed out at the Congress over its decision to hold press conferences across the country on the National Herald case, accusing it of attempting to create an "atmosphere of unrest" to save Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently filed a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others before a special court in New Delhi in the National Herald case, accusing them of allegedly laundering Rs 988 crore.

Patra alleged that money was generated through "bogus donations, bogus advertisement and bogus rent" in the case.

"The ED says the proceeds of crime in the case was worth Rs 988 crore," he said and added, "They are not going to be excused... The long arm of the law will catch them."

The BJP spokesperson also slammed Rahul Gandhi for raising questions on the conduct of the assembly polls in Maharashtra and asked him if the Congress and its ally, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had any agreement with the EC that enabled the coalition to win last year's assembly polls in Jharkhand.

He also asked Rahul Gandhi if the EC was compromised when Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, his sister, was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Wayanad seat in Kerala.

"In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 240 seats and the Congress 99. The Congress was then calling the results its victory and the BJP's defeat. Was the EC compromised then?" he asked.

Though Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, he is actually a "leader with no position" in his own party and in the eyes of the country's people, Patra said.

"With their votes, people are saying that he is a leader with no position. He is incapable and politically unfit, who always takes the crutches of false allegations to prove that he is a leader. What he has been doing in the US and other countries are the result of his frustration with his failures," he said.

Rahul Gandhi should contest elections from some other country if he is not able to do politics in India, he added.