#dnaEdit: Congress is grasping at straws with National Herald case

By stalling Parliament over the National Herald case, the Congress has used the wrong forum to launch a political offensive. There is no credence in the party’s charge of political vendetta by the government in this case. The complainant in the matter, Subramanian Swamy, was not a member of the ruling BJP when the case was admitted by a Delhi trial court in March 2013. Further, there is no evidence to show that Swamy’s private complaint has the backing of the central government.

The aggressive posturing of the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi has been sparked by the Delhi high court’s refusal to quash Swamy’s complaint, and not by any action of the government. The high court’s observations have stung the Congress badly, but rather than restrict themselves to a legal challenge, the Congress has chosen to politicise the issue, perhaps to deflect attention. In its judgment, the Delhi high court had noted that the modus operandi adopted by the Congress leaders in taking control of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) through Young Indian, a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi hold 38 per cent each of the shares, “evidences a criminal intent”.

AJL, which published the now defunct National Herald newspaper, had run up debts to a tune of Rs90 crore to the Congress party, which was extending interest-free loans to keep the company afloat. Rather than write off the loan, the Congress assigned the debt to Young Indian for a payment of Rs50 lakhs, and Young Indian chose to convert the Rs90 crore debt into equity by acquiring shares in AJL. Swamy has alleged that the Congress had cheated its donors and party workers by loaning money to AJL and then settling the debt for a mere Rs50 lakh. He further accused the Gandhis of attempting to take control of AJL’s assets worth Rs2,000 crore through Young Indian and thereby cheating AJL shareholders. The Congress has responded by questioning Swamy’s locus standi in the case, considering that he is neither a Congress worker or an AJL shareholder. It has also claimed that Young Indian had not received any of the rental income from AJL’s properties. But the Congress will be hard-pressed to answer why several hundred AJL shareholders were denied a say when a board meeting attended by just seven AJL shareholders approved the allotment of majority shares to Young Indian.

Clearly, the Congress has some explaining to do to its supporters, if not to Swamy and the courts. Ironically, no Congress leader has challenged the Gandhis’ version despite the financial implications of these transactions, indicating the firm grip the family has over the party. Rahul Gandhi has levelled a serious charge that the judiciary is being threatened. Without evidence to back his claim, a senior leader like Rahul should desist from such accusations that affect the integrity of institutions. Rahul’s statement, further, confirms the perceptions about his lack of political maturity. Sonia’s response, that she is Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law and could not be cowed down, was clearly not victim-speak.

The hullabaloo over the summons to the Gandhis to appear in court and face the charges reflects the Gandhis’ indignation at not having their way. As ordinary citizens do when caught in legal tangles, the Gandhis too have no option but to present themselves in court and subject the matter to judicial scrutiny. No doubt, actions of the government of the day often give rise to doubts of political vendetta against the opposition. The dubious support from opposition parties like Trinamool Congress, notwithstanding, the Congress is damaging its moral standing by holding Parliament hostage to such non-issues.