Did Rahul Gandhi’s ED fiasco help Congress bounce back?

“I am not Savarkar. I am Rahul Gandhi,” says a placard at the protests launched by the Congress against Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

It sums up the National Herald case in a single sentence. While most Opposition parties like Trinamool Congress, YSRCP, TRS, BJD, etc., have all fallen in line, Rahul Gandhi stands apart, continuing to defy and raise uncomfortable questions to the Modi Government. Savarkar apologized and fell in line with the British. Rahul Gandhi is the lone voice, raising questions against Modi Government.

This explains why the Modi Government is unleashing Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case, in a desperate bid to silence the uncompromising voice.

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Rallying Behind Rahul

The Congress’ decision to hit the streets has helped the party to bounce back onto the national political centre stage. The top leadership of the Congress and party rank file were mobilized across the country. Sinking all differences, the leaders united to stage demonstrations all across, stepping into the agitational mode. For a long time, such a fighting spirit was not on display and for the first time the party has shown such a fighting spirit.

Former US President Thomas Jefferson remarked, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”

There was a tinge of drama. On Jun 13, Rahul Gandhi came to All-India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters on 24, Akbar Road in the Capital, where he addressed top Congress leadership and AICC office-bearers, after which he set out for the ED office. The stage was set soon for the top Congress leaders to hit the streets, transforming the Congress party into a mass organization.

Similarly, on June 14, Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by his sister and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, reached AICC headquarters on way to the ED office for the questioning. The top brass of the Congress, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, besides Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal, assembled at the gate to receive, when Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi arrived.

ED Move as Trigger

What the party was struggling to achieve, that is to say, the party revival through elaborate planning, was achieved overnight by this one stroke of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issuing summons to Rahul Gandhi and to Sonia Gandhi. Descending onto the streets, the Congress staged a show of strength that took the political observers by surprise.

The Nav Sankalp Chintan-Shivir in Udaipur in Rajasthan was meant to devise ways and means for mobilization of the party leaders and cadres on a large scale. This was expected to result in the Congress Revival. Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, was part of the elaborate plans for political mobilization.

But, here was an opportunity handed over on a platter, for the Congress to bounce back on the national political centre stage. And the Congress seized the moment and wrested the political initiative from its adversary.

No Legal Case

There is criticism as to why Congress is not allowing the law to take its course, by cooperating with the ongoing ED investigation. Why did Congress choose to hit the streets, instead?

On the ED summons in the National Herald case, Congress chose to respond politically, as no legal case has been made out, so far.

There are sequential steps that lead to investigations in the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA) case by the ED.

First, a scheduled offence has to be made out. Secondly, based on it, the First Information Report (FIR) has to be registered in a police station. Thirdly, PMLA investigation by the ED commences only at that stage. There is a court ruling to this effect on PMLA investigation.

Launching of investigation under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), before identifying a scheduled offence and registering an FIR, is against law. Under PMLA, proceeds of crime must relate to criminal activity, referring to a scheduled offence. Nothing means nothing, has been logically established to make out a credible case of corruption, even as there appears to be unseemly haste to issue summons to the Gandhi family to make them appear to be in the dock.

So, while Congress is duly contesting the Income-Tax case in the Supreme Court, it is protesting the flagrant violation of law by the ED. If there is a violation of law, Congress is entitled to protest.

Origins of the ED Move

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a Private Complaint against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Later, he moved to the Delhi High Court and got a Stay on his Private Complaint.

The result is that there is no Scheduled Offence, no FIR and no Private Complaint even with the ED now. How, then, is the ED proceeding with its questioning of Rahul Gandhi? This is seen as making the law stand on its head, which is why Congress is protesting.

Delhi HC Order

In its order of December 7, 2015, the Delhi High Court stated that there is no substance in the Private Complaint. The Delhi High Court order went on to make it clear, saying, “Without casting any reflection on the merits of this case, and while leaving the larger questions raised in these petitions open, to be considered at the charge stage, these petitions and pending applications are dismissed.”

Why Protest?

After 7-long years, the fact of the matter is that there is no FIR still, not to mention no filing of a charge sheet and the stage is nowhere near framing the charges.

The entire case presently is in the realm of speculation. What, then, is the ED Move? There is an ongoing Income-Tax case,  pending with the Commissioner of Income-Tax, as also in the Supreme Court. This is quite common and there is nothing extraordinary or unusual about it. Randomly, IT makes out cases, which have to be duly dealt with.

In the IT-related case, Congress is fighting it out legally, staging no political protests. But in Enforcement Directorate (ED), there is a flagrant violation of the law.

The adage is to let the law take its course. But, when there is a flagrant violation of law, then surely Congress reserves the right to protest against it.

No Grilling in ED

Significantly, ED does not grill anyone. In the investigations into an economic offence, it can question individuals to elicit information, because it makes an independent investigation. On the other hand, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) grills, as it tries to crack the crime and establish the missing links. In the ED, the procedure is supposed to be simpler, but Rahul Gandhi’s bitter experience proves it otherwise.

No Money-Laundering

There is no Money-Laundering in the National Herald case. The Associated Journals Limited (AJL) was launched in 1937 and, under its aegis, National Herald in 1938. Five thousand freedom fighters were its original shareholders.

National Herald is the flagbearer of the values and the vision that the Congress symbolizes.

After Independence, National Herald did not succeed commercially and it slipped into losses. It ceased publication in 2008 when the Congress-led UPA Government was in office.

Young Indian was formed under Section 25 of the Companies Act. The law is very clear. Section 25 of the Companies Act means that it is a not-for-profit company. It cannot pay dividends to its Shareholders or pay any amount to Directors. So, the creation of Young Indian has not resulted in any illegal money transfer of money or change in the status of the property. Here, too, there is no scope for misuse of funds.

Young Indian paid AJL Rs 90 crore, converting debt into equity, which is a corporate practice universally followed. The result was that AJL became free from debt.

The amount of Rs 90 crore was spent on National Herald. Around Rs, 67 crore was spent on paying salaries to journalists and press workers and a balance of Rs 23 crore was spent on payment of electricity and other bills, building lease amounts and various taxes. All payments were made through cheque.

So the entire amount was spent on the National Herald and payments were made through cheque, eliminating the scope for misuse of funds. What was the big fraud that ED is trying to unearth?

Young Indians may have started holding shares, but AJL remains just the same. The AJL continues to own all the landed property of the National Herald. AJL continues to hold all the profit it earlier held. It continues to be the owner of the National Herald. It continues to be the printer and publisher. The only change is with regard to the shareholding of AJL.

There is no transfer of money or property from the AJL. How, then, can the charge of money laundering be made? That is the moot question.

Case Closed in 2015

Importantly, the case had been closed in 2015. If it was really such an open-and-shut case of corruption, why, after a thorough investigation, the case was closed? The logical conclusion is that nothing incriminating has been found.

The Government has since shunted out the head of the ED and is seeking legal opinion to reopen the case seven years later. It is against this backdrop that summons was served on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Interestingly, the summons by the ED were issued even before making out a reasonably credible case.

Targeting of the Opposition leaders by the Central Investigating Agencies appears to be the norm. This is so to such an extent that if some of the accused persons join the BJP, then they are instantly absolved, like Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Narayan Rane, Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari from West Bengal.

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