Congress softens its stand on National Herald case

Party decided to roll back its plans of organising a high-profile showdown on December 19

Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and V. Narayanasamy (left) also accused the Arunachal Pradesh Governor of trying to oust the Congress government in the State.

Shifting its stance on the > National Herald controversy , the Congress on Thursday decided to tone down its rhetoric against the ruling BJP, asking its spokespersons to strictly explain the case on legal grounds and avoid making any political attack.

At a meeting at 10 Janpath in the morning, sources said, the party decided to roll back its plans of organising a high-profile showdown on December 19, the day when the case will be heard in a Delhi court. Instead, the sources said, several dozen members of Parliament will accompany president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to the court premises.

After the end of Thursday’s Parliament session, the leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad, addressed the media and highlighted the >party’s troubles with the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh , accusing him of hatching a coup with the BJP to oust the Congress government there. Both avoided commenting on the DDCA row.

At the meeting, Ms. Gandhi’s legal team, led by Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, kept insisting on “staying quiet” until the proceedings were over. “They [the lawyers] said ‘don’t antagonise the judges by gathering people outside, judges don’t like public pressure and it also amounts to contempt of court’,” said a senior leader. Ms. Gandhi said a new strategy would be formed after the hearing.

National Herald Case

• What - Subramanian Swamy, the then Janata Party president, >knocked the court's door raising questions over acquisition of a company that published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper to which Congress gave a loan of over Rs 90 crore.
• Who - Dr. Swamy alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had floated a Section 25 company called ‘Young Indian’, which acquired Associated Journals, founded by late Jawaharlal Nehru, that published the National Herald and Quami Awaz .
• How - Dr. Swamy >claimed it was illegal for Congress, a political party, to give loans for commercial purposes. Young Indian wrote off the loans due to Congress for a mere Rs 50 lakh and by a board resolution, the Associate Journals is sold by transfer of shares to Young Indian, which is not a newspaper or journal producing company.
• Why - The deal, Dr. Swamy alleged, was to grab prized property like Herald House in Delhi and other properties of the Associated Journals in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
• Then - Rahul Gandhi >threatened legal action against Dr. Swamy. Congress challenged Dr. Swamy to prove his allegations in a court of law. As Dr. Following Dr. Swamy's plea, a Delhi court >ordered the Gandhis to appear before it on August 7, which was >challenged in High Court.
• Next Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul Gandhi and others are directed to appear in person on December 19 by a Delhi court on Tuesday.