Hyderabad: Protests against allegations against Sonya Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi against the National Pioneer Case, Congress leaders and ministers including Deputy Chief Minister Malu Bhatti Vikramarka served as dharna in the Office of the Enforcement Bureau (ED) in Basheerbagh on Thursday.
Barty said at the rally that the center led by the BJP deliberately targeted Congressional leaders to suppress opposition voices and attempts by Departure leader Rahul Gandhi to conduct a nationwide caste census.
“The Modi government was shocked by Rahul Gandhi’s call to implement a national caste census. They were concerned about the fair distribution of resources and wealth,” he said. He said Telangana had conducted a caste survey, showing that 56% of the population belonged to the backward class and said Congress intends to expand this model nationwide.
IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu condemned the revival of the decade-old national pioneer case, saying it was an act of political revenge that aims to divert public concerns from practical issues such as inflation, unemployment and economic decline. “Although the BJP tries to scare us, Congress will not back down,” he said.
Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha said the BJP tried to silence Rahul Gandhi because it could not fight him politically. He claimed: “The fee meter is a strategy carefully planned under the guidance of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”
B.C. Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that under Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress was under popularity and the BJP was threatened. He added: “The BJP does not respect democratic institutions and instead uses them as a tool of harassment.”
Meenakshi Natarajan, head of AICC Telangana, said ED Chargesheets are part of a broader strategy to stifle dissent and social justice. “It’s not only a family, but every Indian who believes in democracy and equality,” she said.
Congress leaders vowed to continue fighting for justice, vowed to abuse central institutions of political vendetta as a pillar of democracy when the party returns to the center.
