By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 16 Apr: BJP’s National Treasurer and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal addressed a press conference at the BJP State Headquarters here today where he described the Congress party’s protest in the National Herald case as a manifestation of its anguish following the exposure of corruption involving the Gandhi family. Bansal claimed that those who once paraded with the Constitution in hand are now resorting to threats against investigative agencies, seeking to exert pressure upon judicial proceedings.
Bansal claimed that the Congress party had committed a grave error by converting the National Herald, established by the collective contributions of thousands of freedom fighters, into a private enterprise. He asserted that the Congress party is now feeling the heat of legal scrutiny into alleged illegal occupation of lands valued in thousands of crores. He also reminded that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the principal accused in this matter and are presently out on bail.
He shared that the National Herald was rendered a loss-making entity, following which a dubious loan of Rs 90 crore was shown granted to it from the Congress party. This debt was later converted into ownership through a company called Young India, in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi held a combined 76 percent stake. Through this mechanism, properties in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna and Bhopal came under the control of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for a mere Rs 50 lakhs invested by them, Bansal claimed.
Bansal further questioned why, instead of cooperating with the Enforcement Directorate, whose charge sheet is based on a thorough investigation, the Congress is seeking to malign and obstruct the legal process. He emphasised that while the Congress has every right to protest, it holds no right to loot public land and party funds.
He further reminded that the M/s Associated Journals Limited, the company behind the National Herald, had received a Rs 90 crore loan from the Congress party, an act illegal under the law governing political parties. He also questioned the charitable claims of Young India Foundation, which was allegedly formed for non-profit purposes but has shown no record of such activity.
Bansal alleged that Congress’s current protests are timed to influence court proceedings due on 25th April, and added that the nation now bears witness to the Gandhi family’s model of development, and this uproar is but the cry of a party cornered by truth.
