Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge along with Lok Sabha LoP and party MP Rahul Gandhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday (April 19, 2025) presided over a meeting of general secretaries, in-charges of various States, and heads of frontal organisations to chalk out a follow-up plan to implement the decisions taken at the party’s Ahmedabad session on the ground.

The party’s top brass also discussed the party’s strategy in response to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet against former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. But neither leader attended the meeting.

The party announced its plan to hold 40-odd press conferences across the country between April 21 and 23 on the National Herald issue.

Between April 25 and May 30, the party will take out “Samvidhan Bachao” (Save the Constitution) rallies in every State and district, followed by door-to-door campaigns.

“The Indian National Congress is not merely launching a campaign — it is igniting a people’s resistance to defend the very soul of our Republic. We stand united to safeguard the Constitution, uphold the values of liberty, equality, and justice, and to fight for the rights, dignity, and future of every Indian,” Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said, sharing the schedule for the next 40 days.

In his inaugural speech, Mr. Kharge said the party leaders were named in the ED chargesheet and National Herald properties in Delhi, Lucknow and Mumbai were attached with a “spirit of vendetta”.

The Congress chief also said it cannot be a mere coincidence that the ED took such a big step after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Ahmedabad.

Mr. Kharge also claimed that when the Congress plenary was held in Raipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured raids on party leaders by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) so that the plenary would be a failure.

Asserting that Young Indian is a ‘not-for-profit’ company, the Congress chief said this meant that no one could take or transfer the shares, properties or profits of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) that published The National Herald.

In the closed-door meeting, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is said to have underscored the need to explain the National Herald issue in simple terms without getting into complexities. Ms. Vadra is also said to have emphasised the need to explain that National Herald came into existence much before Independence and was a not-for-profit company, and none had taken any income or remuneration.

Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh, addressing a press conference after the two-and-half hour meeting, claimed the ED chargesheet against Congress leaders in the National Herald case was a “lie-sheet”.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s observation on the points raised by the Opposition parties on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, the Congress chief expressed satisfaction.

Mr. Ramesh alleged that people holding constitutional positions, Ministers and BJP MPs were speaking against the Supreme Court in their bid to weaken the institution and the top court was only telling the ruling party “not to frame laws that went against the basic structure of the Constitution”.

“They [BJP] are busy weakening the Supreme Court. The powers given by the Constitution to the Supreme Court are being sought to be weakened,” he said.