Herald case: Congress says allegations against Sonia and Rahul ‘false’

New Delhi: Congress on Sunday said the allegations and "insinuations" against party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case are "deliberately orchestrated", "patently false" and "defamatory" as it insisted that all transactions are entirely legal.

Amid the raging row, senior party leader and former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said "Congress respects the integrity of the judicial process and is confident that its leaders will be fully vindicated through the judicial process".

In a statement here, he listed out some details of the case as well as Delhi High Court's judgement of December 7 which, according to him, "held that no question of criminality, even upon a prima facie basis arises at this stage".

He reproduced Para 36 of the judgement as saying: 'It needs no reiteration that this is not the stage to even prima facie opine that the ingredients of any of the alleged offences exist to justify putting petitioners on trial or not. Any observation made in this regard by the trial court or this court shall have no bearing when the case of the petitioners is considered at the charge state.'

While giving some details of the case, Kumar said, "In view of the aforesaid incontrovertible facts, it is obvious that allegations and insinuations against the Congress leadership and others are deliberately orchestrated, are patently false and defamatory. All transactions in question are entirely legal."

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been summoned by a Delhi court in connection with the case on December 19 after the High Court refused to agree to their plea for personal exemption.

This issue led to stalling of Parliament for most of the last week with the Congress creating uproar, alleging "political vendetta".