December 1, 2025
BANGKOK – Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday fiercely condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of waging a “mischievous politics of harassment, intimidation, and vendetta” against the party’s leadership in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.
Taking to the social media platform X, Ramesh dismissed the case as “completely bogus” and alleged, “Those who threaten are themselves insecure and afraid. Justice will ultimately triumph. Satyameva Jayate.”
The controversy reignited as Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Sunday registered a fresh FIR in the National Herald money laundering case, naming six additional individuals alongside Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The FIR was filed following a complaint from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarters.
The ED had also registered an FIR in October 2025. This followed a charge sheet filed earlier by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging financial irregularities related to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald newspaper.
The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has once again adjourned the hearing on whether to take cognisance of the ED’s charge sheet, which implicates senior Congress leaders, including Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court is expected to deliver its decision on December 16.
Ramesh reiterated Congress’s defence, stating AJL had 700 shareholders and the conversion of a Rs 90-crore loan into equity of Young Indian was done with shareholder consent. “All assets and income belong to AJL, not Young Indian,” he emphasised, challenging claims that AJL’s properties, valued at around Rs 359 crore by the Income Tax Department, were worth thousands of crores.