Not a whiff of crime, it's a hit job by BJP to divert focus: Cong

NEW DELHI: Calling ED's National Herald case a "political hit job scripted by BJP", Congress Wednesday said there is not a whiff of a crime of any sort as Young India is a not-for-profit company, with no money or property transfer. It said the case is a ploy of PM Modi to divert focus from difficult questions like unemployment, falling growth and social unrest. Congress said the probe agency should answer why it never proceeds against a BJP or NDA functionary, and that "selective justice is political thuggery".

AICC leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jairam Ramesh, taking postshots at the top BJP duo, said, "There is no crime under any law, PMLA, Companies Act, etc. The only crime is that 'two persons' with a criminal mindset are running a fake narrative." They added, "Because Make in India has failed, Fake in India has been crafted to run the fake narrative that a crime has taken place. It is a vendetta against political rivals to scare people. It is vendetta in legal disguise."

Addressing a presser, Singhvi asked how can there be money laundering case when there is a no transfer of money or property and there is no money trail. He said AJL, National Herald, was formed to propagate certain values during the freedom struggle and it did not succeed commercially, following which Congress gave it loans from time to time, which ballooned to Rs 90 crore. He said to revive AJL as a debt-free company, the loan was transferred to a new company called Young India and the debt was turned into equity.

Singhvi said YI was created as a not-for-profit charitable company under Sec 8, which does not pay any dividend, and which did not indulge in any economic activity like sale or purchase of property. Congress workers, meanwhile, held nationwide protests against ED's case, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge accusing Modi's govt of targeting Congress to "whitewash its sins" as its economic mismanagement was spiralling out of control.