Congress calls Herald charge sheet ‘political vendetta’; BJP denies

The charge sheet also triggered reactions from other opposition parties, which denounced ED’s move

The Congress termed as political vendetta, the Enforcement Directorate’s charge sheet against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case. The party’s legal expert Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “Now that there is nothing more than a charge sheet filed in a fake, non-existent case, this is being contested and will be contested fully in all aspects.”

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. (PTI)

The charge sheet also triggered reactions from other opposition parties, which denounced ED’s move and said the agency was being weaponised to target the opposition.

The Congress leadership, according to functionaries aware of the developments, has already held several rounds of consultations with Singhvi, who is set to represent the Gandhis in this case. It has also asked all its state units to organise protests in front of ED’s regional offices in every district starting Wednesday. In a letter to all state units, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said, “These protests must involve senior state leaders, MLAs, MLCs, leaders of frontal organizations, party functionaries and all Congress workers, to register our strong opposition to the Modi government’s political of vendetta and intimidation.”

“However, it seems they have forgotten that this is a family that has given its blood for the country. Their petty tactics, using their lapdog agencies, are not going to deter us — in fact, it is only going to further strengthen our resolve against this divisive, destructive regime. We will hold protests outside ED offices across the country tomorrow to register our strong opposition to such politics of vendetta and intimidation,” he added.

Singhvi described the case as one where the government “started a money laundering investigation where there is no movement of money, any movement of property or any activity for transfer of (assets)”.

The case is about Associated Journals Ltd, which runs National Herald, and has substantial real estate properties around India being effectively taken over by Young Indian, in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi hold 76% by payment of ₹50 lakh against loans of ₹90 crore given to AJL by the Congress party.

Singhvi, however, said that all that was done was to create a not-for-profit company to manage the affairs of National Herald, where no dividends can be paid, no commercial transactions take place, and the mere creation of that company with Sonia Gandhi and other members of the Gandhi family or late Motilal Vohra has been treated as an act of money laundering.

Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said, “Our consistent stand has been that the ED is being used as a weapon to target the opposition. The ED is being used to try and browbeat the opposition. The question must be asked that why is it that the ED never reaches the doors of any BJP leader. Are the BJP leaders washed in a washing machine?”

Independent MP Kapil Sibal said, “Congress gave ₹90 crore over the years. That debt could not be repaid, therefore Young India was set up for purposes of transferring for sum ₹50 lakhs, the loan. A Section 25 company was set up... the shareholding was taken over by the majority. Neither Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi nor anybody else, own the property; it’s a settled law, shareholders don’t own property... What’s the offence? You want to paralyse the Congress, so that it cannot function. This is an assault on democracy.”