'Politics of vendetta': Jairam Ramesh reacts to ED chargesheet naming Gandhis in National Herald case

Jairam Ramesh

Minutes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the alleged National Herald money laundering case, party leader Jairam Ramesh likened the seizure of assets of National Herald to a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law.

"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 INC and its leadership will not be silenced. Satyameva Jayate," tweeted Ramesh on X.

The chargesheet filed before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court also names Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey and others. The court will hear the matter on April 25. On April 11, the ED issued notices to property registrars in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow, where the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), - acquired by Young Indian Limited (YIL), a company beneficially owned by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi - are located.

According to the the investigation agency, the attachment follows investigations that revealed the alleged laundering of proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 988 crore, linked to AJL's assets. The proceedings were initiated after an Adjudicating Authority recently confirmed the earlier provisional attachment of the properties.

The ED's probe, which formally began in 2021, stems from a complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in 2014 before a Delhi court. The complaint accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders of orchestrating a fraudulent takeover of AJL's properties - estimated to be worth over Rs 2,000 crore - through YIL for a nominal sum of Rs 50 lakh.

Despite legal challenges, both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court allowed the investigation to proceed. During the probe, the ED conducted searches and seizures at multiple locations and claimed to have uncovered documents pointing to additional layers of financial irregularities.