The Congress on Sunday launched a sharp political counterattack after a fresh FIR was filed by the Delhi Police against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others in the National Herald case, calling it the latest example of the Centre’s “vendetta politics”.
The FIR, registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on October 3 based on a complaint by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), invokes charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and dishonest misappropriation of property under IPC sections 120B, 403, 406 and 420.
The case names the Gandhis, Congress leaders Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, Young Indian (YI), Dotex Merchandise Ltd, Dotex promoter Sunil Bhandari, Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) and others. Most of these names also appear in the ED’s chargesheet filed before a Delhi court in April, which is next listed for hearing on December 16.
The ED moved to get the FIR registered using Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which allows the agency to share evidence with a police body for creating a predicate offence, necessary for the ED to pursue its own money laundering investigation.
According to sources, the fresh FIR bolsters the ED’s case, which stems from a 2014 complaint by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy alleging irregularities in the financial dealings of the National Herald, owned by AJL and controlled by Young Indian. The ED has alleged a “criminal conspiracy” that enabled Young Indian, majority owned by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, to acquire AJL properties valued at over Rs 2,000 crore for just Rs 50 lakh, besides generating “bogus rents” and “sham advertisements”. The agency claims Sonia Gandhi “abused” her position as Congress president for personal gains.
The Congress, however, has dismissed the FIR as politically motivated.
Slamming the government, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X, “The Modi-Shah duo is continuing with its mischievous politics of harassment, intimidation, and vendetta against the top leadership of the INC. Those who threaten are themselves insecure and afraid. The National Herald matter is a completely bogus case. Justice will ultimately triumph. Satyameva Jayate.”
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also criticised the FIR, terming it “neither wine new nor bottle new nor glasses new”, and calling the case “a one-trick wonder where no money moved, no immovable property transferred, yet money laundering is invented”.
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