Mumbai, June 13: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. Both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case. While Sonia Gandhi was initially summoned on June 8, the questioning was rescheduled after the Congress chief tested positive for COVID-19. The ED has now called her on June 23.

On Sunday, Delhi police denied permission for a Congress rally that would have taken place from AICC headquarters to Enforcement Directorate’s office on Monday. Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Monday detained Congress party members for gathering outside AICC headquarters and imposed Section 144, prohibiting the gathering of four or more persons, in the areas around the Congress headquarters in Delhi. National Herald Case: Rahul Gandhi Accompanied by Congress Leaders March To ED Office (Watch Video).

What Is the National Herald Case?:

National Herald newspaper was founded by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 and was published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The newspaper was banned by the British government in 1942 during the 'Quit India' movement. Three years later the newspaper started its operations again. As visioned by Nehru, the National Herald came to be identified with India's freedom struggle and became a powerful tool. Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi Appears Before ED for Questioning in National Herald Money Laundering Case.

After Nehru took over his role as PM, he stepped down as chairman of the board of the media outlet but the newspaper continued to be funded by Congress. It soon became one of the leading English dailies, but the newspaper, due to its whopping Rs. 90 crore debt, shut down in 2008.

To revive it, the then-ruling party Congress offered a Rs 90-crore interest-free loan to the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL). However, the debt couldn't be repaid. Congress, in 2010, assigned this debt to Young India Private Limited, a non-profit company that was created a few months earlier. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among its board of directors and they each own 38% of the company. AJL, however, could not pay the debt. The ownership of the company was then transferred to Gandhi-owned YIL for which they paid Rs 50 lakh.

In 2012, BJP veteran Subramanian Swamy filed a case against Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi for cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring the ownership of the newspaper. He also named YIL's other shareholders - Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, journalist Suman Dubey, and technocrat Sam Pitroda. Swamy alleged that the Gandhis acquired a publicly-held company in a malicious manner by merely paying Rs 50 lakh considering the company had real estate properties worth Rs 2000 crore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2022 01:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).