Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy and the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi have threatened to sue each other on the National Herald issue. But, quite predictably, neither has taken the bait. A recap of the major charges (and rebuttals) may explain how this state of suspended animation has come to pass.
Swamy alleges that Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), a private company that owned the defunct newspaper National Herald, and Young Indians (YI), the section 25 company that all but acquired AJL, committed “fraud” by violating the Companies Act—and breached a “moral code of conduct that dictates to politicians”. Both the trust and the company are controlled by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as well as top Congress (AICC) office-bearers. Swamy, touring the nation “exposing” the AICC’s role in giving AJL a Rs 90 crore interest-free loan, contends the Gandhis rather than the AICC were the beneficiaries. He says they have a role in 27 “companies and trusts” in all.
The Election Commission has...
