Sonia Gandhi and Rahul have not got a single paisa from Young Indian or assets of AJl, the Congress has asserted as perhaps for the first time it came out with a FAQ format clarification on its website to rebut allegations by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on National Herald issue.
Countering the Government offensive, the party lists 14 questions and answers under “Frequently Asked Questions on the National Herald case” and gives details of profit and losses of The Associated Journals ltd (AJl) from 2008-09 to 20014-15.
In response to a question whether Jaitley calling Young Indian a real estate company is true, the party responded: “Absolutely false. YI does not own a single real estate asset or immovable property. AJl (The Associated Journals ltd) continues to own all its assets. The allegation is, therefore, completely baseless.”
In an article, Jaitley had said that `90 crore from the funds collected by the Congress Party were given to the newspaper company AJl and eventually that tax exempted money effectively got transferred to a real estate company, which acquired 99 per cent of the share-holding of the former newspaper company.
The first question is about whether Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi benefited financially from Young Indians to which the party replies in negative saying as directors or shareholders of Young Indian, a non-profit, Section 25 company, they are prohibited by law from drawing (and have not drawn) any financial benefits.