National Herald Case: Suffering from COVID-19, Sonia Gandhi to skip ED questioning tomorrow
Jun 07, 2022
New Delhi [India], June 7 : Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will skip the Enforcement Directorate summon in connection with a money laundering case in the National Herald case as she has not yet tested negative for COVID-19.
She was summoned by the probe agency on June 8 along with party leader Rahul Gandhi.
According to sources, Sonia Gandhi who tested positive on June 2 for COVID-19 infection is still COVID positive.
Although she is recovering but can't join the probe till her COVID test is negative. However, the final call will be taken as per the doctor's advice about her health following which the decision will be taken to join the investigation.
Rahul Gandhi has also been summoned to join the investigation on June 13.
He was earlier summoned to Join the investigation but he was out of the country and later he was given a fresh Date of June 13 to join the probe.
Meanwhile, the Congress party is alleging that it's a "political vendetta" and the case has no grounds for investigation.
ED's move followed the questioning of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case.
The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders then under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL). While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL.
The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of the AJL and YIL.
The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to the Congress.
He had filed a complaint with a Delhi court earlier. Following the court taking cognizance of an Income Tax Department probe against YIL on Swamy's petition, the ED also registered a fresh case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
