Income Tax Department on Tuesday sent notice to Congress party, days after a Delhi Court issued summons to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on finding prima facie irregularities in the National Herald case. According to sources, the I-T Department’s action was due to the Congress party’s funding to The Associated Journal, the publisher of National Herald newspaper.
As per Income Tax Act and Representation of People’s Act, the political parties are barred from funding any companies or investing money in any business. The Congress had funded the Associated Journal, the publisher of National Herald, to the tune of Rs 90 crore to pay its debts.
After this , the AJl was taken over by a newly-floated company called Young Indian in 2011. Sonia and Rahul have 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, and rest of the shares was controlled by Vora and Oscar Fernadez. By this controversial acquisition, Young Indian, with just five lakh rupees capital became the owners of Rs2000 crore worth assets of AJl, having land holdings in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, lucknow, Bhopal. The newspaper production was closed down in 2008.
last week, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy wrote to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to initiate probe against Congress party and related companies for the violation of the various provisions of Income Tax Act in this case.
This letter came before the New Delhi Metropolitan Magistrate Court summoned as accused Congress President Sonia Gandhi and leaders Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandez and Gandhi family aides Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda in this case.