New Delhi [India], July 5 : BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla launched a scathing attack on the Congress party over the National Herald case, alleging it exemplifies the party's involvement in land-related corruption.
Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla claimed, "The National Herald scam is proof of how the Congress party is connected to the land. Wherever Congress sees land, be it the Jija ji scam, MUDA scam, or National Herald scam, it grabs that land through corruption."
Poonawalla further alleged that properties worth Rs 2,000 crore, which he claimed belonged to freedom fighters and the people of the country, were acquired by Congress through a special purpose vehicle named Young Indians for a mere Rs 50 lakh.
"In the case of National Herald, property worth two thousand crores, which belonged to the freedom fighters, belonged to the people of the country. By creating a special purpose vehicle named Young Indians and paying Rs 50 lakh, the entire property worth two thousand crores was taken. Now, when the looters are being asked to return, these people are playing the victim card...," he added.
On July 2, Delhi's Rouse Avenue court raised certain queries to the ED about the shareholding of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and whether the Congress party was a victim, as It had given a loan to AJL.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju submitted that there was a conspiracy to siphon off the assets of AJL, a company with assets worth Rs 2000 crore, a fact known to Congress leaders.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne heard the arguments at length for nearly three hours and listed the matter for further hearing on July 3.
The ED filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against seven persons: Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex, and Sunil Bhandari. The Congress provided a loan of Rs. 90.25 crore to AJL, which had no means to repay despite holding assets worth Rs. 2000 crores, ASG Raju submitted.
Raju alleged that the accused aimed to usurp AJL, with its Rs. 2000 crore assets, by creating Young Indian, a company controlled by the Gandhis. The ED argued that Young Indian acquired AJL for just Rs. 50 lakh in exchange for the Rs. 90 crore loan provided by the Congress.
The ED further stated that the accused firm, Dotex, gave a Rs. 1 crore loan to Young Indian, out of which Rs 50 lakh was paid to the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Consequently, Young Indian became the owner of AJL for Rs 50 lakh.
ASG Raju argued that a company with an asset value of even Rs 5 lakh became the owner of a company with Rs 2000 crore in assets, emphasising the absurdity of the transaction. Despite AJL's Rs 2,000 crore in assets, it struggled to manage its daily affairs. Raju argued that any prudent person would have sold assets to repay the Rs 90 crore loan, which was insignificant compared to the company's asset value.
The ASG alleged that the AICC conspired to usurp AJL's assets through Young Indian, created to siphon off Rs 2000 crore in exchange for the Rs 90 crore loan.
The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju questioned why the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had given another loan to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) when the company was unable to repay the earlier loan, asking why a prudent person would do so.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi wanted to take over AJL, a company with assets worth Rs. 2000 crores.