Swamy asks EC to de-recognise Congress, says it cannot extend loans

Mangalore Today News/ ITV

New Delhi, Nov 3: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Saturday moved the Election Commission seeking de-recognition of the Congress party over extending loan to Associated Journals Limited. Talking about the development, Swamy said he had moved the Election Commission based on the confession of the Congress party that it did give the loan.

Reacting to this, the Congress party has said that it will contest the complaint filed by Swamy to the Election Commission. The party maintained that the Rs 90 crore loan was given to VRS for the employees of the company.

Last evening, Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi had in a statement admitted that the party had given interest free oans to The Associated Journals Ltd which published National Herald and other newspapers.

 

This came after the Janata Party president continued his attack on the Congress saying it was not a charitable organisation to extend loans. He said, "The Congress party is not a charitable organisation, it is a political party…they have only one work, they can do only political work with the money they collected."


On Friday, the Congress had maintained that its support to the National Herald newspaper was an interest-free loan yielding no commercial profit to the party. Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi had said, "We are proud that not only have we given these 700 people money and provident fund but also given money for their VRS and bid them farewell."

Swamy, however, termed it as a confession by the Congress of its "loan crime". Tweeting early on Saturday, he said, "After the Congress confession of the loan crime (on Friday), I am filing a petition today before the ECI seeking de-recognition of Congress party."

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed Swamy’s allegations as serious and questioned if there was immunity to the Gandhi family. BJP leader Balbir Punj said, "The issues raised by Swamy are very serious. Law not taking its course, immediate enquiry were ordered against Gadkari, Ramdev…is there an immunity to one family here?

Swamy had on Thursday addressed a press conference in which he alleged that Congress party gave a loan of Rs 90 crores to Associated Journals that published the now defunct National Herald and Quami Awaz, which was in violation of Income Tax and election laws. He had also said that a new company Young Indian was floated to take over the functioning of Associated Journals by Sonia and Rahul to grab a prized building in the capital and renting it out in violation of laws.

Dwivedi said the object of Congress is the well-being and advancement of the people of India and the establishment in India, by peaceful and constitutional means of a social state based on Parliamentary democracy in which there is equality of opportunity and of political, economic and social rights and which aims at world peace and fellowship.

"In furtherance of its object and its political activities, it is a matter of pride for the Indian National Congress that it has supported The Associated Journals Limited, publisher of the National Herald and other newspapers, founded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937, which have played a role in our freedom movement.

"The Indian National Congress has done its duty in supporting The Associated Journals to help initiate a process to bring the newspaper back to health in compliance with the laws of the land," Dwivedi said.