ED, CBI being misused, says Pilot; drama, counters Swamy

New Delhi, Dec 19  Rajasthan Congress President Sachin Pilot on Saturday said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are being used against the party.

"It is clear that CBI and ED are being misused to target the Congress," Pilot said ahead of the hearing of the National Herald Case in Patiala House courts here.

However, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said the ongoing protest by the Congress party was bringing shame to the country.

"As a citizen, I have the right to point towards a law being broken. All this drama being done by the Congress is giving the country a bad name. They are resorting to protest because they know that they are going to lose (the case), otherwise they should go to court normally," Swamy said.

Asked about the Z category security being given to him, Swamy said it was the Congress government of P.V. Narasimha Rao that first gave him the special security cover.

"UPA government then restricted the security to certain states like Tamil Nadu where there was presence of LTTE. After our government came back, they reinstated the Z-security which was originally given to me by Narasimha Rao. It is not a new thing." 

Swamy has been provided Z-category Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cover. The central government on Friday also decided to provide official accommodation to him.

Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi appeared in Patiala House trial court in Delhi on Saturday in connection with the National Herald case. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present in the court.

Former Union minister Kamal Nath said the National Herald case was not the only instance of political vendetta against the Congress party and they would fight against it.

"It is not just this incident (National Herald case) of political vendetta. The whole thing is a pattern; the pattern of political vendetta across the country. There are so many similar cases, Himachal Chief Minister, in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and this is what we are going to fight on all fronts," Nath said.

"It's for the government to decide what kind of relationship they would like to have (with Congress) and if they would like to have a combative relationship then we are ready for it," he added.

Congress leader Salman Khurshid also expressed his support for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi saying that the nation stood with them.

"The nation and its soul stands with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," Khurshid said ahead of the hearing.