National Herald Scam: Another setback for Sonia, Rahul, Congress likely to get IT notice

New Delhi, July 1: After days of court summon to

and

,

is likely to get

(IT) notice over National Herald Scam. According to sources, Income Tax officials are all set to send a notice to Congress questioning them as to why the exemption given to it should not be withdrawn.

Earlier a court in Delhi sent summon to the Gandhis to appear before it on July 9 in connection with the case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

The scam and Subramanian Swamy's allegations:

The complaint alleged that the Gandhis formed a company, Young India, in 2010 with 38 percent share each to take control of Rs.2,000 crore worth of assets of Associated Journals Ltd, which published the National Herald.

The National Herald was started in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru. Over the decades, it lost circulation and ran into major financial losses, leading to its closure in 2008.

According to Subramanian Swamy, the offence was made possible because of the Gandhis' "crony control over the Congress party and AJL". He alleged that they closed AJL in 2008 due to financial crisis and stopped printing the National Herald and sister publications Navjivan (Hindi) and Qaumi Awaz (Urdu), which were saddled with huge unpaid debts.

To resolve the financial crisis, AJL transferred the share equity to Young India by a mere payment of Rs.50 lakhs without taking any reference from the shareholders. Young India thus acquired the complete ownership of AJL real estate assets of at least Rs.2,000 crores, including a multi-story building in a prime location in Delhi.

OneIndia News