Congress holds stir, slams BJP for 'politics of vendetta'

MUMBAI: Accusing the Narendra Modi government of pursuing "vendetta politics", Congress workers on Saturday held a demonstration in Mumbai even as party chief Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul appeared in a Delhi court in the National Herald case and secured bail.

The agitation was led by former chief minister and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Ashok Chavan.

Over 1,000 party workers and leaders gathered at Kherwadi Junction in suburban Bandra and shouted slogans against the BJP for resorting to what they charged was the "politics of vendetta" against Sonia and Rahul in the National Herald case, in which both are facing criminal charges.

Senior leader Narayan Rane, former MP Priya Dutt, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam and ex-state minister Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan were prominent among those who participated in the demonstration that held up traffic for a while on the busy Western Express Highway.

Addressing party workers, Chavan and Nirupam vowed to continue their fight against BJP's "vendetta politics".

Chavan and Nirupam, along with over 100 leaders and office -bearers of MPCC, were taken to Kherwadi Police Station and then let off, Mumbai Congress Vice-President Zakir Ahmed, meanwhile, told reporters.