After much hullabaloo, Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul, along
with five others appeared in the Patiala House Court on 19 December, 2015 in
connection with the National Herald case and were granted bail. They are
ordered to appear in the court on 20, February 2016, on the date of next
hearing. The climb down on the part of the Congress stalwarts seems quite
interesting.
The National Herald case has caused an acrimonious exchange of
words between the ruling BJP and the Congress Party. The case, apparently
having a huge legal implications, has taken a contentious political turn, the
echoes of which were heard in the Parliament as well. Actually the Congress MPs
vociferously blamed the government for tarnishing the image of the Gandhis
by pursuing a false charge.
The ruling party claims that Subramaniam Swamy has acted in his
individual capacity. He filed the complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and
others way back in 2012,much before the Modi government came to power. At that
point of time, Swamy was not even a member of BJP. It argues that the
whole issue is essentially legal and the matter must be resolved in the court
of law and not outside at all.
The allegation, according to Swamy, is the massive financial fraud
and property grabbing worth Rs. 5,000 crore committed by the Gandhis. His
charge is that they have virtually acquired the Associated Journal Limited
(A.J.L.), the owner of the newspaper The National Herald, through their private
company, Young Indian.AJL allowed the transfer of an unsecured loan of Rs. 90
crore from the All India Congress Committee. Swamy’s contention is
that it was absolutely illegal for a political party to lend its
money for any commercial venture.
The Congress Party, on
the other hand, brushed aside the allegation by claiming that the
National Herald, founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937,an iconic institution, has
been saved by the fund transfer for its legacy so intertwined with
India’s historic freedom movement. The Congress Party led by the
Gandhis has acted in good faith. Since the controlling company is a
non-profit entity, the Congressmen argue, deriving any pecuniary benefit
does not arise at all. They defend themselves by saying that the Gandhis have
not taken any advantage whatsoever from the deal. The whole issue, according to
them , has been purposely given a legal colour by distorting and
manipulating facts and Subramaniam Swamy is just a front, acting on
behalf of “vicious and vindictive” government under Narendra Modi.
BJP says that on the face of it, the conduct of Sonia Gandhi and others in this
matter seems improper and illegal. According to them, the Gandhis by
encouraging the Congressmen to create bedlam inside the parliament and outside
have tried to give the impression that they are being framed by the hostile and
vicious dispensation. They believe that the Gandhis are involved in a very
serious financial wrongdoing and the fear of going to jail has made them
jittery and desperate . Sonia Gandhi being the daughter-in-law of
indomitable Indira Gandhi cannot be frightened and subdued by
political vendetta unleashed by the present government and its supporters.
The Gandhis seem to be on a sticky ground. Many independent
observers believe that the Gandhis may not find the experience of going
through the process of trial to their liking. They would have to stand in
the witness-box and would be intensely questioned by the unforgiving legal
experts. The questions thus asked would in all probability be tough and
embarrassing. The whole proceedings would be widely reported. Obviously
that would further add to their discomfiture.
It is true that only
very few politicians in India have been convicted on the corruption
charges. But the reputation of many people has been irretrievably damaged on
this ground. They must be remembering how Rajiv Gandhi suffered grievously on
this count.
Despite their bravado,
the Congressmen, including the Gandhis must be anxious if not worried.
-----Sailendra Misra
No comments:
Post a Comment