The Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against the Gandhis over the misuse of funds directed for the National Herald. While the Congress leaders call it a political move to defame them, the ruling party has clarified that there is no hidden agenda, and the Congress must be answerable to the ED.
The former union minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur claimed that the Gandhis have acquired properties of over 2000 crore using the funds of National Herald, investing nothing from their side. Thakur further said, “Both Gandhis together owned 76% of the Young Indian company, which the Congress gave a ₹50 lakh loan. The company then took over the Associated Journals Limited, which owns the newspaper affiliated to the Congress, in lieu of ₹90 crore it owed to the Opposition party.”
In a furious tone, Thakur further said that if the Congress thinks the ED has been politically motivated, they must go to the court for a timely resolution of the dispute. He claims that they would not move to the court since they were involved in the case.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal reacted to the ED’s move to confiscate the assets and properties of National Herald, saying that the move is an “assault on democracy”. As it aims to stop Congress from working, he also accused the BJP of indulging in Hindu-Muslim politics and trying to destroy the opposition through such measures.
The remarks came a day after the Enforcement Directorate announced that it had sealed assets worth 661 crore attached to National Herald and related journals. The National Herald was originally started by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Mr Sibal blamed the ruling party for using ED as a tool to occupy the places where the Congress offices run to stop its functioning.
The properties include the building located at the Herald Office at ITO, Delhi, the AJL building in Lucknow and the office in the Bandra area of Mumbai. The investigations by ED began in 2021 and have listed several leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, late Motilal Vohra and Oscar Fernandes and others, to be involved in corrupt practise and money laundering using the funds of National Herald.
AJL, which published National Herald, is owned by Young India Private Limited, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the major stakeholders.
