The latest report of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case has created a stir in the political corridors. The report has shocked the shocking claim that property worth billions of rupees was grabbed in the name of charity through Young Indian Private Limited, which is directly controlled by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. But the biggest question arose whether the Congress really gave election tickets to those who donated? The ED report described it as a donation given in lieu of possible political advantages.
In the documents filed in a Delhi court on Saturday, the ED clearly stated that Young Indian was shown as a “non-profit” company. But its real job was AJL’s assets worth more than Rs 2,000 crore. The ED claimed that no charity was done at the ground level and giving tickets to those who give tickets in the Congress seems to be a ‘systematic pattern’.
₹ 0 investment, property worth ₹ 2,000 crore!
The ED has stated that all the shares of Associated Journal Limited (AJL) were transferred to the young Indian company for just Rs 50 lakh. Surprisingly, this amount was not given by Young Indian himself, but this amount was given by Dotex Merchandise Private Limited, a Kolkata company. The company gave it as a loan. In turn, Young Indian got complete control of all AJL properties, including buildings located at major places in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal and Patna.
Young Indian is only a name organization, the real purpose was to capture the property
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court in the National Herald case that Young Indian was established in the name of donation, but no charitable work was ever done. In the court, ASG Raju said that Young Indian took assets of about ₹ 2000 crore of AJL without paying a single rupee. According to the ED, the entire plan was a conspiracy to grab the property of AJL and under this Young Indian was formed. The ED also claimed that AJL was purchased for ₹ 50 lakh, which was obtained from a company called ‘Dotex’. That is, the young Indian neither invests his money nor started any charitable work. In contrast, the agency alleged that political benefits were distributed through Young Indian and the organizations were given tickets to contest elections, that is, the entire model was just a show of charity and actually a means of political gains.
Sonia and Rahul’s direct relation
The ED has described the deal as “fraud controlled by direct political leadership”. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes have been directors of Young Indian. The questioning has been done against Rahul and Sonia and regular hearing is going on in the case.
Congress rejected ED’s claim
Senior Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi has reacted to serious allegations of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case. He said that “not a single penny has been transferred anywhere in this entire transaction,” and the allegations made by the ED “do not matter to the Congress” as the matter is completely legal and transparent. Calling it a political vengeance, Singhvi said that this is another attempt to target Congress leaders.
Will the matter go ahead?
Now that the ED has filed this sensational allegation in the court, the direction of the case is at a decisive turn. Will the big names of Congress be processed? Or it will once again get entangled in the debate of ‘Politics vs. investigating agency’. The answer can be met by the court in the coming weeks.
