BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj created a political commotion on Tuesday by taking a tote bag with the slogan "National Herald Ki Loot" to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the "One Nation One Election" idea at the Parliament Annexe building.
The message on the bag was a pointed and bitter political dig at the Congress party, reviving the current controversy over the National Herald case.
Swaraj's action was interpreted as a statement criticizing Congress for its role in the suspected financial misdeeds connected with the National Herald newspaper. She charged Congress with a serious betrayal of public trust, alleging that the Congress leadership had abused media-related institutions and diverted public property worth Rs 2,000 crore. She particularly named the use by Young India Limited, a company owned 76% by the Gandhi family, and alleged it was used for turning public properties into private property.
Swaraj's statements are made as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is strengthening its investigation into the National Herald matter. The ED had charged Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are senior leaders of the Congress party, of laundering Rs 988 crore through the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Swaraj reiterated that the leadership of the Congress would have to face the courts on April 25, during this time.
The National Herald, launched in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru and other leading Congressmen, closed shop in 2008 due to growing debts. The row broke out once again in 2012 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a case charging cheating and breach of trust in the transfer of AJL assets to Young India Ltd. Swaraj's remarks and continuing legal advancements continue to put the National Herald case in sharp focus, adding to political tensions between the BJP and Congress.
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