The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday lashed out at the Gandhi family and accused it of “appropriating” the legacy of the Congress party, the freedom struggle and the property of a paper that was associated with it, the National Herald.

A day after the enforcement directorate attached the property associated with the newspaper, former Union minister and senior BJP leader, Ravi Shankar Prasad said allegations that the government was witch-hunting the opposition party are unfounded.

“The Congress family is commerce through illegal means,” he said addressing the media at the party headquarters.

“The BJP would like to ask a straight question to Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, as to how action against rank dishonesty, loot of public money is a negation of democracy ?” Prasad said responding to the Congress’s statement that the ED’s action is a “murder of democracy.”

Lashing out at the Gandhi family for allegedly misusing the assets of the newspaper, he said the “family appropriated the fight for Independence. Then based on that they established a dynastic rule.”

Referring to the formation of a company, Young India, which was then used to usurp the assets of the paper as a “new low in the democracy of India”, he went on to add, “The family does not only control the legacy of the party and the freedom struggle, but also the moveable and immovable property as well.”

The BJP leader said the Congress party family must pay for its sins.

Even as he dismissed the opposition’s charge that the investigation agencies were being misused by the government, he said, “When Modi was the CM of Gujarat, he was called to the investigation for three days for many hours, but he went. Did the BJP workers throng the investigation centre ? “