'Imbalanced' Congress lost its nerve: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday lashed out at the Congress Party for not allowing the Parliament to function over the National Herald case and said it has lost its nerve and balance.

"If they now go back to raise issues which they raised in the previous session, people are going to ask them why they forgot them in the interim period. I think the Congress Party has lost its nerve...has lost its balance, and is feeling completely cornered and isolated. They have to blame themselves. They cannot blame either the government or the BJP," BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao told ANI.

"I think it's very clear from all these flip flops that the Congress Party is completely rattled, and is confused. After blocking Parliament for the entire week over the National Herald, today the Congress Party again says this is not the issue," he added.

He further said that the statements of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi show that the duo are trying to arbitrage their political strength in the Parliament.

"It took them almost a week to understand that there is no relief that they can get by blocking Parliament, by blaming government and by sacrificing public interest. I think the public opinion which has gone clearly against the Congress and the public pressure has eventually worked on them," he said.

The BJP spokesperson pointed out that the sooner the Congress would be able to recover a part of their lost prestige if they participate in the legislative process in the Parliament.

"If they continue to hold Parliament to ransom, the public will consider this as their revenged tactics for being accountable to the court of law in this country," he added.

Rao further said, "They have today and tomorrow to formulate a strategy and the nation would see how they would behave on the floor of the House next week."

Asking the Gandhis to submit to the rule of law, Rao said that the more they try to divert public attention and try to gain political capital, they would be exposed more.

The National Herald newspaper was closely associated with India's freedom struggle and the Indian National Congress till 2008. In January 2008, discussions about its closure began. On 1 April 2008, the paper's editorial announced that it was temporarily suspending operations. Before its closure, the paper was being run by Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed the case in a local court in 2012. The trial court then issued summons to the two leaders among others in June 2014, but they approached the Delhi High Court seeking a stay. On Monday this week, the high court refused to stay the summons, and asked all of the accused to appear for a hearing on December 19.

The accused face allegations that they illegally acquired property worth Rs. 5,000 crore belonging to the National Herald newspaper.