India's opposition slams $332 million graft charges against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi

Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have been formally charged in a case stemming from a 2001 complaint filed by BJP politician Subramanian Swamy. The case accuses them of attempting to fraudulently acquire assets worth $332 million tied to a now-defunct newspaper group.

Both Gandhis have denied the allegations and described the move as politically motivated. Congress party leaders claim the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using government agencies to suppress political opposition ahead of national elections.

“This is nothing but vendetta in legal disguise,” said Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi. He alleged that the Enforcement Directorate, India’s financial crime watchdog, was selectively targeting opposition leaders while sparing BJP allies.

Jairam Ramesh, another senior Congress figure, called the case an act of "harassment and political targeting," asserting that the opposition "cannot be silenced."

BJP leaders defended the legal process, insisting investigative agencies operate independently. “There is no license to loot in this country,” said BJP lawmaker Ravi Shankar Prasad, rejecting the Congress party’s claims of bias.

Rahul Gandhi, who has faced multiple defamation cases, was briefly expelled from parliament in 2023 before India’s Supreme Court suspended his sentence. He remains a central figure in Indian opposition politics, though the Congress party has failed to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last three general elections.