New Delhi: A fresh twist has emerged in the long-running National Herald controversy, with the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registering a new FIR against Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. The case, filed on the directions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarters, also names six others associated with the matter.
According to officials, the latest FIR centres on alleged irregularities in the transfer of assets belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) the publisher of the National Herald to Young Indian, a company in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are major stakeholders. The complaint states that the transfer involved criminal conspiracy, cheating, and financial misrepresentation.
The FIR further lists Overseas Congress Chairman Sam Pitroda, Associated Journals Limited, Young Indian, and Kolkata-based Dotex Merchandise Private Limited as accused. Investigators allege that the companies and individuals worked together to gain control of AJL’s properties through fraudulent means.
This development comes even as the Congress has repeatedly argued that the National Herald case is politically motivated. Responding to the new FIR, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal accused central agencies of being used as instruments of intimidation. He said the party was neither surprised nor concerned, asserting that there was “nothing new” in the manner government bodies were “targeting political opponents”.
The new FIR marks yet another escalation in a case that has been a persistent flashpoint between the ruling BJP and the Congress, setting the stage for further legal and political confrontation in the coming weeks.