Herald case: Court order a political vendetta?

Why a personal appearance before a court by the Gandhis has become such an issue in a case which has been going on for over a year? If the Congress wants the government to go as per the Constitution, then why try to thwart the rule of law, are some questions which beg an answer. It is at their (the Congress) behest that a discussion on the drought situation in various parts of the country is underway and now they don’t want to allow fellow members to debate the plight of the farmers, who are looking towards Parliament for its decision of how to tackle the situation

New Delhi : A trial court’s order asking Congress President Sonia Gandhi and son, Vice-President Rahul, to make a personal appearance before it on December 19 in the National Herald case has angered and rattled the Grand Old Party (GOP). Its members chose to stall both Houses of Parliament by storming into the well and shouting slogans: ‘Tanashahi nahin chalege’, ‘rajnaitik badla nahin chelega’, ‘rajnaitik utpeedan band karo’, while on the other hand the karyakartas were protesting on the streets, leaving onlookers wondering where is the connect with “political vendetta”.

In fact, in the Lok Sabha din Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy managed to get the opportunity in the afternoon to question “why are they (Congress) agitating...they should say something so that we can respond... As one understands it may have to do with the court order, so how is the government involved. It is at their (the Congress) behest that a discussion on the drought situation in various parts of the country is underway and now they don’t want to allow fellow members to debate the plight of the farmers, who are looking towards Parliament for its decision of how to tackle the situation....”

The SAD and TRS members, too, were on their feet questioning the Congress strategy not to allow the House function on the very grave issue of drought affecting farmers in their States. But, their pleas to allow debate failed. It saw an angry Sonia reaching out to the TMC members over Rudy’s efforts to get other MPs to speak. But before anything more could be said the House was adjourned.

Outside the Houses, at a press briefing, Congress leader Kapil Sibal along with Abhishek Singhvi and Randeep Singh Surjewala sought to justify the protest by saying that the BJP in the past one year was targeting its leaders instead of governing. And that Subramanian Swamy, who had filed the case against the Gandhis, was ‘power of attorney of the BJP and His Master’s Voice” and that the Court order “is without any legal basis.’ He then went on to explain how the order’s ‘criminal misconduct’ by the Gandhis was misplaced. However, when it came to the question whether the Congress was alleging that the Court had been influenced, he answered in the negative!

The court, he insisted, had erred. To another question that if the Congress says it saw no legal basis in the order, suggesting that its lawyers failed to convince the court with their arguments, then how could the party accuse the government of “dictatorship”, the response was the ‘two were separate issues.’ Further, he sought to point out that the case had led to a “political reaction” and that ‘we will appear in Court on the 19th – we have shown our eagerness, willingness and are anxious.” The BJP, he said wants a “Congress mukt Bharat, it is undemocratic and the Congress will come back with a bang.”

If that be the case, why is the party stalling proceedings in the two Houses? Why a personal appearance before a court by the Gandhis has become such an issue in a case which has been going on for over a year? If the Congress wants the government to go as per the Constitution, then why try to thwart the rule of law, are some questions which beg an answer.