Made Gandhis stand in court like common people: Subramanian Swamy

Rahul Gandhi, who was also granted bail in the same case, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is falsely accusing his family. The Gandhis did not move for exemption from personal appearance.

If there was an opportunity to galvanise the Congress rank and file over something as drab as appearing before a magistrate on a court summons, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul on Saturday grabbed it with both hands, playing the victim card with neat precision.

“The current authorities on the Centre is making an attempt to deliberately goal its opposition and for that they’re making the fallacious use of the central businesses. Our struggle for Congress policies in the interest of the poor will continue”, she said as party workers raised slogans of support.

All of them made their way out in a similar fashion as Sonia and Rahul got bail in the case after the court rejected Swamy’s opposition to the relief for them on the ground they are influential and can flee the country.

The Gandhis were granted bail on a personal bond of 50,000 rupees ($754) each, their lawyers said, with Sonia s daughter Priyanka Gandhi and former defence minister A.K. Antony providing sureties.

“BJP and the government have nothing to do with it. They are doing politics over a matter of court”, he said, alleging that Congress did not let run Parliament due to this.

“They had tried to do the same thing in 1977 with Ms Indira Gandhi and failed and they are trying to do same thing with Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi and they will fail this time also”, Jakhar remarked.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has alleged the Gandhis formed a shell company and illegally gained control of properties worth $300 million, which belonged to a firm that published a newspaper founded by Rahul’s great grandfather.

Sonia and Rahul were first summoned in the case in June 2014 but refused to appear in court in person, sending their lawyers instead.

“Whether it is cheating, criminal misappropriation or criminal breach of trust is not required to be spelt out at this nascent stage”.

He asserted that today, in the hearing of the high profile case, it seemed like there were not accused but some freedom fighters. “Questionable conduct of petitioners needs to be properly examined at the charge stage to find out the truth and so, these criminal proceedings can not be thwarted at this initial stage”, the judge had said in his 27-page order. The Gandhis belong to the Gandhi-Nehru clan that has given India three prime ministers and is considered India’s top political dynasty.