Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunshi, on Monday, said that the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet, which names former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, indicates a Centre-sponsored "political vendetta. "

Addressing a press conference here, Dasmunshi alleged that the BJP, its union ministers and its social media wings are trying to malign the image of Congress leaders by terming them as 'money launderers'.

She claimed that no single rupee had been transacted, and there was no basis for the allegation of money laundering, reported PTI.

"Allegations of money laundering are being raised, even though not a single rupee was transferred from Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that managed the National Herald newspaper to Young Indian, a non-profit organisation formed to extend a loan to the National Herald newspaper which was struggling due to financial losses," she said.

"The Congress had stepped in to revive it using funds collected from party workers through cheques as it was a symbol of national pride which had to be preserved," she added.

"If there is any money laundering, we are ready to face it. For 11 years, they kept this case open by the ED," she said.

Dasmunshi, who is also in charge of the Kerala party affairs, alleged that the BJP government is attempting to divert attention from the present situation to the country's unemployment, falling GDP, economic crisis, social disorders, and foreign policy challenges posed by the US, China, and Bangladesh. A false narrative is set to divert attention from these issues, she added.

Responding to a query that the grand old party is taking a double stand on similar actions by Central agencies against opposition parties, including the Serious Fraud Investigation Organisation (SFIO) case against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, Dasmunshi said that any stand on such actions can be taken only based on the merit of the case.

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, who was also present, said the SFIO case against Vijayan’s daughter cannot be called politically motivated.