BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj on Tuesday carried a tote bag emblazoned with “National Herald Ki Loot” to target the Gandhi family, days after the Enforcement Directorate filed charge sheets against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case.

Bansuri had arrived at the Parliament Annexe building to attend a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on ‘One Nation One Election’.

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“This is the first time that corruption has taken place in the fourth pillar of democracy, the media. The charge sheet filed by the ED highlights the old working style and ideology of the Congress party. In the guise of service, they make public institutions a tool to increase their personal property. This is a very serious matter…The Congress party and its top leadership are accountable for this,” Swaraj told a news agency.

Reacting to Swaraj’s decision to sport the bag, Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat said, “Bansuri Swaraj is a reputed leader. She should first tell where the loot happened. The Bharatiya Janata Party is scared of the word Congress, the way Britishers used to be scared. They are diverting people from the main issues. This is the deliberate attempt to defame the Congress leaders,” Bhagat said.

The move is also seen by many as a direct swipe at Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is known to carry such bags to highlight several issues.

Ms Vadra triggered a row in December last year when she carried a bag to the Parliament with “Palestine” written on it in solidarity with the Palestinian people facing Israel’s wrath following the October 7 Hamas attack.

The BJP had condemned the move, accusing her of communal posturing. The saffron party also questioned her silence on the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

However, Priyanka silenced her critics and carried another bag inscribed with “stand with Bangladeshi Hindus and Christians” the next day.