Northeast

Repeated issuance of summons against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi an act of misusing ED by BJP government: Manipur Congress

National Herald Case: Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra Singh said that the charges made upon All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi and leader Rahul Gandhi are baseless.

ByIFP Bureau

Updated 16 Jun 2022, 3:23 pm

(PHOTO: IFP)
(PHOTO: IFP)

Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Keisham Meghachandra Singh claimed that the charges made upon All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi and leader Rahul Gandhi are baseless and is an act of misusing ED by the BJP government. 

Condemning the repeated issuance of summons against the party leaders by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with money laundering case, the MPCC president clarified about the charges against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in connection with money laundering case related to the National Herald case while addressing media at the Congress Bhawan, BT Road on Wednesday.

Meghachandra recalled that National Herald is a Newspaper started by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Purushottam Tandon, Acharya Narendra Dev, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai and others in the year 1937 to give voice to the freedom movement in the country and was owned by Associated Journals Ltd.

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From 1942 to 1945, the British had banned the paper during the ‘Quit-India’ Movement as it played a crucial role in launching the freedom struggle, he added.

He further said that despite the editorial excellence of the paper, National Herald continued to bleed financially and ran into losses with an outstanding due of Rs 90 crore. In order to help the National Herald newspaper to address the crisis, the Congress party gave a loan of Rs 90 crore. It was given on an installment basis between 2002 to 2011, the MPCC president informed, adding Rs 67 crore of this Rs 90 crore loan amount were used by the National Herald to pay the salary and VRS of its employees. 

Rest of the money was used for payment of government dues like electricity charges, house tax, tenancy charges, building expenditure etc., he added and condemned the BJP government for the charges against the Congress leaders for giving loan, terming it unfortunate and intentional. Considering the role played by the National Herald during the freedom movement, the loan was given as a form of support, he said.

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Meghachandra also said that even the Election Commission had already clarified that the case is not related with provision of Representation of Peoples Act.

All income and all assets of the National Herald continue to remain exclusive property of Associated Journals Limited and assets are owned by the company, Associated Journals Limited and not any shareholder, he said. No one has transferred any movable or immovable property/assets of Associated Journals Limited nor has ‘Young Indian’ withdrawn a single rupee from Associated Journals Limited, he added.

He charged that the summoning of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi shows that the BJP wants to attack Congress leaders. The ongoing case is a battle for truth; however, the truth will surely emerge, Meghachandra said, adding that instead of playing all this drama, the BJP government should rather focus on addressing unemployment and price high issues.

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Tags:

Rahul GandhiSonia GandhiManipur congressED summonEnforcement DirectorateNational Herald casemoney laundering

IFP Bureau

IFP Bureau

IMPHAL, Manipur

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