Will win Waqf battle, not intimidated by ED action: Kharge

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday asserted that the party will not be cowed by the Enforcement Directorate’s actions against its leaders and expressed confidence of victory in the legal challenge to the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

Addressing a meeting of Congress general secretaries and state in-charges at the party's Indira Bhawan office in Delhi, Kharge said the Supreme Court had taken cognisance of the concerns raised by the Congress and other opposition parties regarding the amendment and described the BJP-led Centre’s move as an attempt to stoke unnecessary disputes.

"The issue of 'Waqf by user' has been deliberately raised to put Waqf properties into controversy. We brought the opposition together on this matter and the Supreme Court is now hearing the case. We are confident we will win this battle too," he said. 

Kharge accused the government of misleading the public on the issue and alleged that the BJP was using investigating agencies with political motives. He referred to the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in the National Herald case that names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and the recent attachment of the National Herald’s properties in Delhi, Lucknow, and Mumbai.

“You must have seen how, as part of a larger conspiracy, the names of CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were included in the charge sheet. But no matter what they do, we are not afraid,” Kharge said.

Calling the ED’s actions part of a vendetta, Kharge emphasized that Young Indian – the company at the centre of the case – is a not-for-profit organisation, and therefore, no individual can profit from its assets.

“The BJP is trying to mislead people with lies. We must present the facts clearly before the public,” he said.

The ED has accused Congress leaders of laundering Rs 988 crore and conspiring to “usurp” Associated Journals Ltd’s assets worth Rs 2,000 crore by transferring 99 per cent of shares to Young Indian for Rs 50 lakh — a company where Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders.

Kharge questioned the timing of the ED action, which followed the Congress’s AICC session in Ahmedabad earlier this month. 

“This cannot be a coincidence. The same thing happened during the Raipur plenary last year. Yet, despite raids, our session was successful... Despite that, the public doubled our numbers in the Lok Sabha. Our fight will not weaken,” he said. 

Kharge asked party workers to take the resolutions passed in the Ahmedabad session to the grassroots level and referred to Rahul Gandhi’s April 15–16 meetings to finalise the selection of district presidents in Gujarat.

“There are many pressing issues in the country. We must continue to work in a planned and determined way,” Kharge concluded.

Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present at the meeting.