Congress leaders donated in lakhs to Rahul, Sonia Gandhi-led company on request: ED
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday alleged that senior Congress leaders were directed to donate large sums to Young Indian Limited, a company controlled by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and linked to the National Herald case. The agency claimed that several senior leaders across several states contributed lakhs of rupees to the company, which is now under investigation for what it described as a well-orchestrated financial cover-up. advertisementIn its chargesheet, the agency further claimed that Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were beneficiaries of the funds transferred to Young Indian under the guise of donations.According to the ED, Young Indian Limited allegedly acquired assets worth Rs 2,000 crore from Associated Journals Ltd, the publisher of the *National Herald* newspaper, for just Rs 50 lakh. The transaction has prompted allegations of misappropriation and money laundering.TELANGANA DONATIONS UNDER SCANNER
A significant portion of these questionable transactions has been traced back to Telangana. Acting on the alleged instructions of then-MLA and current Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, four Congress leaders donated over Rs 80 lakh to Young Indian in 2022.Among them, Gali Anil Kumar, who contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, reportedly donated Rs 20 lakh in June 2022. Former MLA Ali Shabbir also contributed Rs 20 lakh, while then Telangana Congress Treasurer P Sudarshan donated Rs 15 lakh. The largest amount, Rs 25 lakh, came from the then Working President of the Telangana Congress. All donations were made within the span of a single month.KARNATAKA, PUNJAB LEADERS ALSO NAMEDadvertisementThe ED's investigation also points to similar donation patterns in Karnataka and Punjab. According to sources, veteran Congress leader Pawan Bansal allegedly instructed Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar and his brother, MP DK Suresh, to contribute Rs 25 lakh each in April 2022. In the same month, a trust linked to Shivakumar, the National Education Trust, donated a staggering Rs 2 crore to Young Indian.In Punjab, Amit Vij, who contested the Assembly elections, donated Rs 3.30 crore in three separate tranches in 2015.The ED suspects these donations were not voluntary contributions but were instead routed as part of a deliberate scheme to funnel money into Young Indian. Sources indicate that the agency is now looking into whether these transactions violated provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).'The pattern, timing, and coordination of these donations suggest a systematic effort to inject funds into Young Indian using party loyalists and state-level leaders,' a senior ED official told India Today.The agency is expected to summon several of the individuals involved for questioning in the coming weeks, even as it prepares to file supplementary evidence in court.The Congress party has so far maintained that the case is politically motivated and that all financial transactions were lawful. However, with the probe deepening and new names surfacing, the National Herald case appears poised to become a major political flashpoint once again.The ED has named Sonia Gandhi as Accused No. 1 and Rahul Gandhi as Accused No. 2, along with five others, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).Tune InTrending Reel
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