National Herald case: Congress alleges party 'under siege' after Young Indian office sealed | 10 Points

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National Herald Case Update: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday sealed the Young Indian office at the Herald House building in Delhi amid the ongoing probe in the money laundering case involving National Herald. ED said that the office was sealed as no one was available in the premises during the search and thus they were not able to complete the search. The order reads that the "premises not be opened without prior permission" from the agency. Earlier, it was reported that the ED had sealed the National Herald office but instead it was the Young Indian office which has been sealed. Earlier in the day, Sonia Gandhi, other Congress MPs' entered the Well of the House in Lok Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session protesting against ED actions and the Modi government. An additional police force was deployed outside the AICC headquarters and Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi. Reacting to the development, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in a tweet said that the "Delhi Police blocking the road to AICC Headquarters has become a norm rather than an exception! Why have they just done so is mysterious…" Congress leaders said that the security deployment outside Sonia, Rahul residences, and the party office seemed as if they were "terrorists", and claimed the party was "under siege" by the Modi government. The police said barricades were erected and its personnel deputed to avoid any untoward situation. The barricades were later removed.

1. Addressing a hurriedly convened press conference at the party office, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and Abhishek Singhvi said the Congress party will not be intimidated by this kind of "cheap and petty politics" and will continue to raise people's issues.
2. The rest of the National Herald office on the top floor of the four-storey 'Herald House' building and other offices are open for use, the sources added. The passport office is also housed in the 'Herald House' located at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. A notice affixed under the signature of the ED investigating officer outside the YI office space said it cannot be opened "without prior permission" from the agency.
3. Officials said the ED team had emailed the summons to the principal officer/in-charge of YI, who happens to be senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking their attendance to open the cabins for it to carry out raids but they have not received any response, so far.
4. The ED on Tuesday raided a dozen locations, including the National Herald newspaper and web portal office in Herald House as part of its money laundering probe in the National Herald-AJL-Young Indian deal.
5. The agency sleuths left the premises in the wee hours of Wednesday after they collected some documents, digital data and questioned some staffers.
6. Kharge, the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, had visited the 'Herald House' building on Tuesday evening along with party colleague Pawan Bansal but he left and the search could not be conducted, officials said. As and when the authorised person (for YI) presents themselves for concluding the search, the seal will be removed, they added.
7. In his tweet, Ramesh shared a video showing heavy police presence outside the AICC headquarters at Akbar road and the road sealed for traffic, alleging it was "vendetta politics". "We will not submit! We will not be silenced! We will continue to raise our voice against injustices and failures of Modi Sarkar!," he said in another tweet.
8. A senior Delhi police officer said it had received inputs from its special branch that some protesters might gather at the AICC Office. "So, as a preventive measure, we have put barricades and deputed our personnel to avoid any untoward situation," he added.
9. In a tweet in Hindi, the Congress said, "The voice of truth will not be afraid of police guards. Gandhi's followers will fight and win from this darkness." Sealing the office of the National Herald, bringing the Congress headquarters under police guards show both the "fear and frustration of the dictator", the party said, adding questions of inflation and unemployment will still be asked.
10. Congress leaders alleged the sole objective of this "siege mentality" of the "fearful" Modi regime is humiliation, insult and intimidation at one level and diversion, digression and sensationalism at another level. They do not want the issues of price rise, unemployment and GST to be raised in the media," Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, adding that fear is not there in the dictionary of the Congress and its leadership.

(With inputs from PTI)

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