The News Minute| July 9, 2014| 8.20 pm ISTIt is strange that Congress President Sonia Gandhi has used the term ‘political vindictiveness’ to describe the IT probe against her, son Rahul Gandhi and other members of her party in the National Herald case. Sonia Gandhi, of all the leaders, should know that politics, vendetta and the use of investigative agencies is not a new story, as her party itself pioneered the art of 'political gains through investigation' in the last few years.The UPA, during its tenure, had dangled the CBI, IT and other axes over quite a few politicians in quite a few cases, some of them involving Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and DMK Organizing Secretary M.K. Stalin.In 2007, the CBI had submitted an application to the Supreme Court saying that Mulayam Singh Yadav and rest of Yadav clan had wealth disproportionate to their incomes. But, in July 2008, the SP supported the government on the trust vote on nuclear deal; and in December 2008, the CBI withdrew the application citing lack of proof.Juxtaposed against this is the December 2012 case when the Samajwadi Party accused the government of blackmailing Mulayam Singh Yadav into supporting FDI in retail and the Bill for SC/ST reservation in promotion with a CBI investigation.In the case of Mayawati, the CBI was refused permission by in June 2007 by the then UP Governor T.V. Rajeshwar to prosecute her in the Taj Corridor Case. The Governor was reportedly close to then UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Later, when Mayawati pulled out of the UPA government, the CBI very soon registered an FIR against Mayawati in a disproportionate assets case, and offshoot of the Taj Corridor Case.In March 2013, the CBI raided the house of DMK Organizing Secretary M.K. Stalin. The raid came just two days after the DMK pulled out of the UPA in protest against the government’s stand on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.The Indian Express, in a report on the 2012 SP-CBI controversy, quoted the SP Spokesperson having cited a report where former CBI Director U.S. Mishra said that the CBI functions under pressure of the government. The report also mentioned that Joginder Singh, another former CBI Director had said that the CBI was not an independent agency.