‘Will not be silenced’: Congress’ first reaction as ED chargesheets Sonia, Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case

“The INC and its leadership will not be silenced. Satyameva Jayate,” a resolute Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh posted on X on Tuesday after the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others on charges of money laundering in the National Herald case.

The chargesheet also names Congress leader Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as accused persons.

“Seizing the assets of the National Herald is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law,” Jairam Ramesh said in his X post.

“Filing chargesheets against Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the PM and the HM gone completely berserk,” the Congress leader added, with a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

ED on Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in National Herald Case

ED's special public prosecutor NK Matta filed the chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi under Sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The ED investigation began in 2021 after a metropolitan magistrate in Patiala House courts in Delhi took cognisance of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.

The complaint, the ED said, highlighted a "criminal conspiracy" by several prominent political figures, including the first family of the Congress party led by Sonia Gandhi, her MP son Rahul Gandhi, late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, aside from Dubey, Pitroda and a private company Young Indian for their alleged involvement in money laundering in relation to the fraudulent takeover of properties valued over ₹2,000 crore belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

AJL is the publisher of the National Herald news platform (newspaper and web portal), owned by Young Indian Private Limited.

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian with 38 per cent shares held by each of them. They were questioned for hours by the ED a few years ago.

The ED claimed its investigation has "conclusively" found that Young Indian, a private company "beneficially owned" by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, "acquired" AJL properties worth ₹2,000 crore for a mere ₹50 lakh, significantly undervaluing its worth.