National Herald: India’s Gandhis charged in money laundering case amid opposition outcry

After the country’s economic crimes firm charged senior officials Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and others with cash fraud, India’s opposition Congress party has announced it will hold countrywide protests on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) presented its findings in a Delhi court on Tuesday, accusing the Gandhis of forming a shell company to illegally acquire assets of the National Herald newspaper worth more than 20bn rupees ($233mn; £176mn).

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh called the charges “politics of vendetta and intimidation” by the government.

The Gandhis, who have earlier denied any wrongdoing, have never made any comments regarding the allegations.

Various members of the Congress party are named in the investigation, including its outside leader Sam Pitroda, according to ANI news agency.

Subramanian Swamy, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP), filed a private complaint in 2021 that led the Enforcement Directorate ( ED ) to begin looking into the case.

Swamy claimed that the Gandhis illegally acquired properties worth millions through Associated Journals Limited ( AJL), which published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper, and that the Gandhis used party funds to buy Associated Journals Limited ( AJL ) from the newspaper.

The Congress maintains that it lent more than 900 million pounds to AJL over the years and that it bailed out the publisher as a result of its historic reputation.

By converting its debt for equity and giving the stock to a newly established company called Young Indian, which the gathering claims is a “not-for-profit business” with no income paid to its shareholders and directors, AJL became debt-free in 2010.

The managers of Young Indian, Rahul and Sonia, each individual 38 % of the business. Congress leaders, including Motilal Vora and Sam Pitroda, own the remaining 24 %, including the remaining 24 %.

The Enforcement Directorate reported last week that Young Indian had purchased AJL qualities worth 20 billion rupees for only 5 million, considerably undervaluing their value.

It also served several notices to seize assets worth 6.6bn rupees across several Indian cities – including Delhi and Mumbai – which are connected to Young Indian.

On April 25th, the event is scheduled to be heard.

Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather, founded The National Herald paper in 1938.

It stopped being published in 2008 after experiencing financial difficulties, but the Congress after purchased it in 2010 and relaunched as a digital media shop in 2017.

Associated Journals Limited ( AJL), which was founded in 1937 and had 5, 000 freedom fighters as shareholders, published it. Additionally, AJL published Navjeevan and Qaumi Awaz in Hindi and Urdu.

The National Herald gained notoriety for its connection with India’s struggle for independence and its patriotic outlook.

Nehru’s frequent writing of incisive columns resulted in the American government’s 1942 ban on the paper. It reopened three years later.

Nehru resigned as news president in 1947 as prime minister of India.

However, the Congress continued to have a significant influence on the paper’s philosophy.

Nehru addressed the National Herald to discuss the paper’s “generally favoring Congress plan” in a message from 1963 to its metallic jubilee while maintaining” an independent outlook.”

The National Herald eventually grew to become a prominent American daily with support from the Congress group before closing in 2008 due to years of financial difficulties.

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