India opposition slams graft charges against Gandhis

New Delhi: India’s main opposition Congress party accused the government of a “vendetta” on Wednesday after a federal agency filed charges against its top leaders in a years-long corruption case.

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were charged as part of a probe initiated by a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

They have denied the allegations and have accused the BJP of using the state apparatus to target its rivals.

Congress lawmaker Abhishek Singhvi said the case was “nothing but vendetta in legal disguise”.

He also accused the government of using the Enforcement Directorate - a national agency that probes money laundering and financial crimes - of selectively targeting the opposition while sparing its allies.

“Selective justice is nothing but political thuggery,” Singhvi added.

The initial 2001 complaint against the Gandhis brought by BJP member Subramanian Swamy accused the Gandhis and others of “usurping” properties belonging to a now-defunct newspaper.

He alleged that the Gandhis aimed to grab property worth $332 million owned by the publishing firm using fraudulent papers.

Jairam Ramesh, a veteran lawmaker from the Congress party, described the case as “harassment and targeting of rivals”.

“We can’t be forced to shut up,” Ramesh said.

Critics in recent years have accused the BJP of using the justice system to target political rivals, with several opposition figures the subject of active criminal investigations.

But BJP lawmaker Ravi Shankar Prasad said India’s judiciary was independent and investigative “agencies are free to work under PM Modi’s government”.

“They (the opposition) have the right to protest - but what are the protesting about?”, Prasad said.

“There is no license to loot in this country”, he added.

Rahul Gandhi also faces several defamation cases and was expelled from parliament in 2023 after a defamation conviction.

He returned months later after his two-year sentence was suspended by the Supreme Court. He is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former Indian prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

His party has struggled to challenge Modi and has lost the last three national elections.