SONIA, RAHUL ON STICKY WICKET AS FIR TO BE FILED IN HERALD LAND GRAB
Saturday, 19 September 2015 | PNS | New Delhi
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are expected to register cases in the controversial National Herald case involving Congress top brass Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The CBI is expected to register an FIR into the grabbing of the prime land allotted by the Urban Development Ministry to National Herald newspaper. The ED too is expected to register a complaint under the PMLA for money laundering in taking over the properties of the newspaper by a private company floated by Sonia and Rahul.
The politically sensitive case got momentum after a trial court in Delhi summoned the Congress leaders in June 2014 on a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
Citing the summoning order, the BJP leader had complained to the ED, Urban Development Ministry and the CBI for taking action against the Congress leadership for money laundering, forgery, breach of public trust and misuse of authority by the accused persons.
After then ED Chief Rajan Katoch allegedly tried to close this case, he was replaced by Karnal Singh. Swamy had accused that being a close relative of Congress leader Digvijaya Sinhg, Katoch was protecting the Gandhi family members.
Senior ED officials told The Pioneer on Friday they had obtained legal sanction to register a case under PMLA, as the court had found prima facie evidence of money laundering of Rs 90 crore in the case.
The CBI is expected to register case under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, misuse of public authority and encroaching Government property. Apart from Sonia and Rahul, other Congress leaders summoned by the court are Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandez.
The associated journal is a public limited company formed in mid 30s under the leadership of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to run National Herald newspaper. Several stalwarts associated with the company in which Nehru had only one share. The Centre as well as several state governments had allotted land for the newspaper publishing company. The lands in New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal, Indore, Panchkula are still with the associated journal. They are worth more than Rs 5,000 crore. In 2008, the associated journal stopped publishing newspapers citing financial troubles.
In 2010, Sonia and Rahul floated a private company called Young Indian and took over the Associated Journal. Both have 76 per cent shares in the company and rest of the shares was allotted to Vora and Fernadez. Gandhi family’s trusted lieutenants Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda are also Directors of this new company which took over the National Herald’s defunct company.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/sonia-rahul-on-sticky-wicket-as-fir-to-be-filed-in-herald-land-grab.html