Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that he and his brother have donated Rs 25 lakh each to the National Herald, a newspaper run by the Congress, “without hiding anything”. Shivakumar’s remarks came amid reports of his name being figured in an ED chargesheet in the National Herald case.
“Yes, we have donated money. I gave Rs 25 lakh and my brother DK Suresh gave another Rs 25 lakh. What’s wrong with that? We donated to a newspaper run by the party. It’s our hard-earned money. It’s not stolen money. We have a trust, and we contributed openly, without hiding anything,” Shivakumar told reporters.
He was responding a question by a journalist that the names of him and his brother reportedly figured in the ED chargesheet in the National Herald case.
Asserting that he has donated money, Shivakumar said he will continue to do the same in the future as well. He alleged that there was politics behind “mentioning his name” in the ED chargesheet.
Last month, the ED filed a chargesheet against Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda in connection with the alleged National Herald money laundering case. On Wednesday, the probe agency told a Delhi court that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi allegedly enjoyed Rs 142 crore in proceeds of crime.
Meanwhile, DK Suresh alleged that the ED chargesheet was filed in a manner “to fix the Congress leaders”.
The charges will be questioned in court, he said, adding it was a political gimmick.
“This is not Sonia Gandhi’s trust but Young India Trust Limited (YIL). We donated to the Young India Trust. This was not an institution for personal gain and it was never used for personal motive,” Suresh further said.
Responding to a question, the former Congress MP said the money donated to the National Herald newspaper was a part of the Income Tax declaration.
Reacting to the ED chargesheet, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters in Mysuru, “Is charity wrong? There is nothing wrong in donations.”
WHAT IS THE NATIONAL HERALD CASE?
The ED’s probe, which formally began in 2021, stems from a complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in 2012 before a Delhi court. The complaint accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders of orchestrating a fraudulent takeover of Associated Journals Limited’s (AJL) properties – estimated to be worth over Rs 2,000 crore – through YIL for a nominal sum of Rs 50 lakh.
In 2010, there were 1,057 shareholders in AJL, which published the National Herald. According to Swamy’s complaint, the Gandhis had acquired AJL through YIL by means of cheating, criminal misappropriation and breach of trust.
The National Herald was a newspaper founded by India’s first Prime Minister and Congress stalwart Jawaharlal Nehru along with other freedom fighters in 1938. It was meant to voice the concerns of the liberal brigade in Congress.
The newspaper became a mouthpiece of the party after independence in 1947. AJL also published two other newspapers, one each in Hindi and Urdu. In 2008, the paper closed down with a debt of over Rs 90 crore. Two years later, AJL was formed with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi holding 38 per cent of shares each, jointly amounting 78 per cent.
As AJL owed Rs 90.25 crore to the Congress, the party transferred the loan to YIL for Rs 50 lakh. With the transfer, control of AJL was subsequently transferred to YIL, which, now, owned 99 per cent of AJL.
Additionally, neither was the transfer done under the watch of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) nor any other regulatory body, which raised eyebrows.
(with inputs from PTI)