Congress used debt-equity conversion formula to save National Herald paper: Pawan Khera

Mumbai: AICC spokesperson Pawan Khera said on Monday that Congress used the successful debt-equity conversion formula to save the National Herald newspaper, which is a symbol of the independence movement, and rejected allegations of money laundering.

“Just like the British who targeted the voice of the independence movement like National Herald and conspired against it, the BJP now wants to destroy the legacy of the freedom movement,” he alleged.

Khera asserted that the Congress would not allow the legacy of the national heroes of the independence movement to be destroyed.

Congress leaders have been holding press conferences in various cities after the Enforcement Directorate in its charge sheet named Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi among others in the National Herald case.

The ED is learnt to have said that a "criminal conspiracy" was carried out by Congress leaders to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of its public company AJL by transferring 99 per cent shares for just Rs 50 lakh to their private company Young Indian, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the majority shareholders.

Khera claimed that Young Indian did not take over Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL), which continues to own and manage all its properties, publications, and operations independently.

He said Young Indian only became a shareholder after a debt-to-equity conversion was unanimously approved by AJL's shareholders.

"Its shareholders—Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, the late Motilal Vora, and the late Oscar Fernandes—cannot and have not taken even a paisa in profits, dividends, salaries, or by selling the shares,” the AICC spokesperson said.

He emphasised that all rent, property, and income belong to AJL and not to Young Indian or its shareholders. The income is being used to run the newspapers and media operations of AJL, as per the company’s mandate.' "The Income Tax Department has valued AJL’s properties at Rs 413 crore—not Rs 5,000 crore, as alleged. Of the six AJL properties, five are leasehold and the sixth one in Lucknow is freehold.

"There is not a single transaction. The properties are used solely for the National Herald’s media operations.

"Such was Jawaharlal Nehru’s commitment to National Herald that he had said he would sell his home, Anand Bhavan, but not let National Herald close down," Khera said.

He claimed that the Rs 90 crore loan extended to AJL by the Congress was to save the National Herald, as it was a symbol of the independence movement.

"Converting debt into equity was a successful formula to revive sick and bankrupt companies, and Congress did just that to save the newspaper,” he said.

Khera accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being afraid of the facts.

"Why did the ED wait 365 days to file a chargesheet against our leaders? The Election Commission dismissed the complaint of wrongdoing by Congress leaders in 2012.

"In August 2015, the matter was referred to the ED, and the agency closed the file. The Modi government removed the then ED Director Rajan Katoch in September 2015, showcasing a clear example of political vendetta," Khera alleged.

He claimed that by 2021, the ED had become a direct political extortion machine of the BJP.

"When Subramanian Swamy became critical of PM Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, the Centre filed its own case through the ED.

"After 11 years in power, the Modi government waited until the last possible day (April 9, 2025) to file a charge sheet despite investigating the matter since 2015. The charge sheet hasn’t been made public yet. If there were real evidence, they wouldn’t have delayed for so long. There have been no summons and no cognisance by a court on these charges,” Khera said.

Khera alleged that the National Herald case was an act of political vendetta revived to silence the Congress and that the BJP government had weaponised the Enforcement Directorate to settle scores and intimidate opposition leaders.