Reuters/New Delhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi will appear in court tomorrow to defend themselves against graft allegations in a case they hope to turn to their advantage by energising their party faithful against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The case was brought by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy who says the Gandhis misused party funds to acquire properties. The Gandhis deny wrongdoing and would seek bail today, a senior Congress leader said.
The Congress accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pursuing a political vendetta against the family. Party workers said there would be uproar if the court treated the pair harshly, which would backfire on Modi.
“If the judiciary makes a call to detain them for a day, it will be an across-the-board tsunami, but that tsunami is bound to work in our favour in the upcoming state elections,” said a Congress Party official.
Modi’s top aides have denied any involvement in the case.
The court hearing comes after Modi’s defeat in Bihar assembly election last month raised doubt about his popularity and dimmed chances he would be able to win more states to consolidate power in parliament’s upper house, the Rajya Sabha, where he lacks a majority.
The legal battle has also soured relations between the BJP and Congress in parliament and has apparently scuppered the chances of them working together to clear legislation for landmark tax reform critical for economic growth.
Two other Congress sources said they believed the Gandhis’ court appearance would help turn the public mood against Modi.
“Showing up in court and attempting to play victim, in a highly public way, is a way of rebuilding morale among the rank-and-file,” said Milan Vaishnav, a political expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Former prime minister and Sonia’s mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, chose to go to jail in a case brought by her rivals in 1977, using it to win sympathy and launch a comeback.
Swamy, who has brought the lawsuit, accuses the mother and son of setting up a shell company to illegally gain control of properties worth $300mn. The assets were owned by a firm that published the National Herald newspaper founded by Rahul’s great grandfather, and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Congress workers are gearing up for protests. Sanjay Nirupam, the party’s chief in Mumbai, said workers were ready to face arrest tomorrow.
Swamy said he would not be cowed.
“I don’t like this mob behaviour, these Congress Party demonstrations and all,” the 76-year-old said.
“If they launch massive protests, then I can say they are unfit to live in a civilized society and should be sent to jail.”