India’s Congress party has announced nationwide protests for Wednesday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) charged Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and other senior leaders with money laundering.
The ED told a Delhi court that the Gandhis created a shell company to wrongfully take over National Herald assets valued at over US$233 million. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh described the charges as an act of “vendetta and intimidation” by the Modi government.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, who have always denied any wrongdoing, have not responded publicly to the latest accusations.
This case also includes other Congress figures, such as Sam Pitroda, according to reports from ANI. The ED opened its investigation in 2021 after a private complaint from Subramanian Swamy, a politician from the ruling BJP.
Swamy claimed the Gandhis used party money to gain control of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald, and acquired valuable property through AJL. The National Herald stopped printing in 2008 and later returned as an online publication.
Gandhis Directors of Non-profit
Congress says it helped AJL because of its historical importance, lending over 900 million rupees to the company. In 2010, AJL cleared its debt by converting what it owed into equity and handing shares to a new company,
Young Indian. Congress describes Young Indian as a “not-for-profit company” where no shareholder or director receives dividends.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are directors of Young Indian and each holds a 38% stake. The remaining shares are split among other Congress leaders, including Motilal Vora and Sam Pitroda.
Last week, the ED claimed that Young Indian obtained AJL properties worth 20 billion rupees for only 5 million. The agency says this deal undervalued the assets.
It has also issued notices to take control of assets worth 6.6 billion rupees in cities like Delhi and Mumbai, linked to Young Indian. The court will next hear the case on 25 April.
The Congress party and other opposition groups have accused the Modi government of using the ED to target political rivals. Reuters reported in 2024 that since Modi took office in 2014, the agency has questioned or raided about 150 opposition politicians.
Last year, the ED arrested Delhi’s former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over an alleged liquor scam, just before major elections. He spent five months in prison before being released on bail.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, prominent figures of the Indian National Congress (INC), have significantly shaped Indian politics, primarily through their leadership roles within the INC and their association with the influential Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
A Brief History of the National Herald
Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and great-grandfather of Rahul Gandhi, founded the National Herald in 1938. The paper ran into financial trouble in 2008 and stopped publishing. Congress took over in 2010 and relaunched it online in 2016.
Associated Journals Limited published the National Herald, along with other papers in Hindi and Urdu. AJL was set up in 1937 and counted thousands of freedom fighters as shareholders. The National Herald became a symbol of India’s independence movement and was known for a strong nationalist voice.
Nehru’s outspoken columns led to the British banning the paper in 1942. It reopened three years later. After independence in 1947, Nehru left his role at the paper to become prime minister, but Congress continued to influence the newspaper’s outlook.
In 1963, Nehru said the paper supported Congress policies but kept an independent view. The National Herald grew into a respected English daily, backed by Congress, until it closed in 2008 due to ongoing financial struggles.
