National Herald case a political conspiracy: Kanhaiya Kumar

Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar addresses a press conference in Jaipur on Monday, April 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Monday (April 21, 2025) said the National Herald case, in which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet, was a “political conspiracy”, and there was no evidence to prove money laundering in the absence of any financial transactions. Mr. Kumar said the case was registered only for targeting the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Mr. Kumar said at a press conference here that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre was running the ED like an “extortion department”. “Besides destroying the constitutional institutions, the BJP government is misusing the Central agencies to suppress the Opposition and distract people’s attention from the core issues,” he said.

Mr. Kumar, who is the All India Congress Committee’s in-charge of NSUI, said the BJP had been lying about the National Herald case since the beginning with the sole objective of defaming the Nehru-Gandhi family. “Two Prime Ministers from this family sacrificed their lives… The British too banned National Herald in 1942. What more can the BJP do?” he asked.

The Congress leader and former JNU Students’ Union president said the ED’s conviction rate was less than 1% and its money laundering case against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was untenable. “There was no borrowing of money and no financial transaction. Both the companies named in the case are non-profit organisations,” Mr. Kumar said.

Mr. Kumar also questioned the BJP’s claims of alleged misuse of property worth thousands of crores of rupees in the case, while pointing out that all the properties, except the one in Lucknow, were on lease. It was not even the National Herald’s personal property, he said.

“On the contrary, no one is speaking about the finances of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The RSS is not even a registered organisation. From where are they getting the money to build their plush offices in every city?” Mr. Kumar said.

Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra, who accompanied Mr. Kumar at the press conference, said an executive meeting on April 24 in Jaipur would assign responsibilities to the party’s office-bearers for launching a Save Constitution Campaign. This will be followed by a State-level rally to be held here on April 28.