WHAT IS NATIONAL HERALD CASE ? (क्या है नेशनल हेराल्ड केस?)

 National Herald Case, Rahul Gandhi appears before ED

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former party leader Rahul Gandhi for questioning in a money laundering case involving the National Herald newspaper.

When Ms. Gandhi was summoned to appear on June 8 her son. Mr. Gandhi was asked to step down on June 13. Congress alleges that the summons reappeared 

"with a vendetta, pettiness, and cheap politics".

LET'S SEE 10 YEARS AGO …

It was a different political time in India about 10 years ago. The ANC was in power, leading a multi-party coalition government to fill the gaps in the crisis. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi were often described as "the supreme constitutional authorities in Man Mohan Singh's government".

It was against this backdrop that veteran – yet – maverick politician and lawyer Subramanian Swamy moved a Delhi court in 2012 alleging money laundering by Sonia and Rahul in what is known as the National Herald Case.

WE ALL KNOW ABOUT RAHUL AND SONIA LET US SEE ABOUT SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY..

Subramanian Swamy is an Indian politician , economist, and statistician. Before joining politics he was a professor of mathematical ,economics in the IIT Delhi . He is known for his Hindu nationalist views.

WHAT IS NATIONAL HERALD?

It is a newspaper that was launched in 1938 by Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) a brainchild of Late Jawaharlal Nehru the president of Indian National Congress.

Nehru Ji started the firm with 5000 other freedom fighters as its shareholders.

He was a patron of the National herald and until he became the first prime minster of Independent India. He was the chairman of the board of directors.

Seventy years after its launch the National Herald was shut down with a debt of Rs 90.25 crore owned to the congress.

This was in 2008 and the Congress was eyeing a second consecutive terms at the centre in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Until then the AJL published the National Herald in English the Qaumi Awaz in Urdu and the Navjeevan in Hindi. 

WHAT WAS THE SCAM?

The Congress Led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won the Lok Sabha election and a year later a new company was set up Young India Ltd(YIL) in 2010 with Rahul then a congress general secretary as a director.

Sonia and Rahul held 76% of the company shares 38% each.

The remaining 24% was held by Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes

Vora passed away in 2020 and Fernandes in 2021.

YIL is said to have no commercial operations. In 2010 when YIL was incorporated AJL had 1057 shareholders . Its holdings were transferred to Young India in 2011. This is where Swamy alleges the National Herald scam happened. And the Enforcement Directorate (ED) believes there is enough evidence to link Sonia and Rahul to this seam of money laundering.

WHAT WAS THE ALLEGATIONS? .

After YIL was set up the congress assigned the debt owned by AJL to YIL which paid 50 lakh to the congress.

In return YIL got the  right to recover the debt from AJL by acquiring the National Herald assets including real estate at one of New Delhi prime locations.

Swamy alleges that YIL took over the assets of the defunct print media outlet in a malicious manner to gain profit and assets worth more than Rs 2000 crore.

                                                                                  CONGRESS PARTY

NATIONAL HERALD

             ☝☝

Associated Journals Ltd (AJL)

                                                                                                           YOUNG INDIA LTD (YIL)

                                                                                                                             ☝☝

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             SONIA AND RAHUL GANDHI

                   CONGRESS DEFENCE

With Swamy going gung ho with his allegation Rahul office in November 2012 threatened legal action against Swamy for accusing him and his mother.

At the party level Congress spokesperson PC Chacko challenged Swamy to prove his allegation in a court of law.

After nearly eight years AJL decided to relaunch the three newspapers in a digital format in 2016.

  ALLEGATIONS FROM SHAREHOLDERS

AJL had far too many shareholders compared to a few in YIL.

Some of them including former Union law minister Shanti Bhushan and former supreme court judge Markand katju alleged that the shares held by their fathers were transferred in 2010 without their consent.

They complained that they were not served any notice when YIL took over AJL.

Despite the complaints and political slugfest the case did not move much further for a couple of years.

  THINGS BEGAN CHANGED AFTER 2014

In may 2014 Modi government came into power.

Swamy wrote a letter to Arun Jaitley seeking an ITI investigation against senior congress leaders in AJL takeover case.

Parallel to it a Delhi court issued summons a week later to Sonia and Rahul on Swamy petition to appear before it in the national herald case.

The same year the ED launched a probe to ascertain if any money was launched in the case.

                  CASE IN THE COURT 

Swamy meanwhile kept knocking the doors of the government and the courts seeking speedy investigation into the case.

In 2015 the supreme court asked Swamy to approach the high court for speedy progress in the case.

In September 2015 the ED reopened the investigation in the National Herald Case.

In December Sonia and Rahul secured anticipatory bail in the case from Delhi court.

In 2016 the supreme court granted an exemption to all the five accused Sonia ,Rahul ,Vora ,Fernandes and Dubey from personal appearances but refused to quash proceedings against them .

In 2018 the Centre decided to snap the perpetual lease and evict AJL from the Herald House premises that was allotted to it on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg (New Delhi) in 1962.

The government said AJL was no longer conducting any printing or publishing activity for which the building was allotted to it. 

The government decision was challenged and in April 2019 the supreme court stayed the decision the eviction proceedings against AJL under.

The public premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act 1971 until further notice.

          WHAT WAS HAPPENING NOW?

The probes by the ED and the income tax department have made some startling revelations.

YIL the company that began with a capital of Rs 5 lakh 12 year ago and which is a charitable non profit organization now has assets worth Rs 800 crore across the country.

Soon after its incorporation YIL secured a loan of Rs 1 core from a Kolkata based shell company so that it could enter into a financial agreement with the congress for the acquisition of AJL.

The ED aims to questions the Gandhi about the nature of their involvement in the National Herald debt swap case.

The congress is unhappy saying the ED action reeks of vendetta pettiness fear and cheap politics.

Only a few days ago Rahul speaking at an event in the UK called ED part of the deap state which he alleged is crushing the voice of India.