The attacks and counter-attacks between Subramanian Swamy and Rahul Gandhi have not stopped since the Janata Party chief took on the first family last week. The round one in all probability has gone in the favour of Swamy. On Saturday, he fires a fresh salvo through his tweet saying that he is going to approach the election commission asking for de-recognition of the Congress party. “Based on Congi (Congress) confession of the loan crime yesterday, I am filing a Petition today before ECI (Election Commission) seeking De-recognition of Congi (Congress) party,” Swamy tweeted.

Swamy’s fresh attacks to the grand old party came after the party said on Friday that those who throw allegations have onus to prove it too. “If Swamy has guts, he should sue Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. It is for those to prove charges, who make allegations. If there is a violation let them take it to court," Congress spokesperson PC Chacko told media on Friday.

However, party spokesman Janardan Dwivedi accepted that an interest-free loan was given to the Associated Journals Ltd to bail it out. “There was no profit accrued from such a loan, there was no question of wrongdoing,” said Dwivedi on Friday.

Earlier, team Rahul had said that it will move court against Swamy’s allegations. "I am surprised at his intention of calling a press conference, it seems motivated and I just don't understand the reasons. If necessary, I think we are committed to taking legal action against these scandalous abuses evident in so-called press conference. There are lots of legal options against this utterly motivated and irresponsible content of the press conference," Sam Pitroda had told the media on Friday. The party has not taken any legal action against Swamy yet. Pitroda is also on the managing committee of 'Young Indian', a Sec 25 company which acquired Associated Journals Private Limited. "I am shocked at this kind of attack," Pitroda had said.

Swamy’s disdain against Gandhi family is well known. In the early seventies, then prime minister Indira Gandhi had derided academician-turned-politician Swamy’s idea of economic liberalization, calling him “Santa Claus with unrealistic ideas”. Ever since Swamy has hardly ever gone soft on the family.

On Thursday, Swamy rubbed salt on the first family already smarting under bruises suffered from the Robert Vadra controversy when he called a press conference to allege that Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul had indulged in corrupt practices in the acquisition of the company that published the now defunct National Herald to which the Congress reportedly gave a loan of over Rs 90 crore. “The mother-son duo held 76 percent shares in Young Indian Pvt Ltd, which took over Associated Journal Publisher of the National Herald group.” He also alleged that the Congress general secretary did not mention his shares and debentures when he filed the nomination paper in 2009 for Lok Sabha elections.

According to Swamy, the main intention of the Gandhi family was to grab prized property like Herald House in Delhi and other properties of the Associated Journals in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The National Herald was founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937. The newspaper played an important role in India’s freedom struggle.

In the press conference, Swamy promised that he had also many things to offer against the Gandhi family which would come in bits and pieces. The ‘Santa Claus’ perhaps is in no mood to calm down.