Gangtok: In a recent video message, BJP Sikkim spokesperson Passang Gyali Sherpa addressed the escalating controversy surrounding the National Herald case, emphatically stating that the legal proceedings were not initiated by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sherpa sought to dispel what he termed a “false narrative” propagated by the Congress Party, which alleges political fabrication in the ongoing judicial process.
Sherpa detailed that the case’s origins trace back to 2012, long before the BJP’s direct involvement in the matter. “The National Herald case is not a case filed by the BJP,” he reiterated, emphasizing its genesis in a trial court and its subsequent progression through the established judicial system. He further noted that the Congress Party, including key figures like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, had repeatedly attempted to frame the proceedings as politically motivated.
He further elaborated on the legal timeline, highlighting the Congress Party’s unsuccessful attempts to quash the case. In 2015, the party sought to remove the Gandhis’ names from the proceedings, but both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court rejected these efforts, underscoring the necessity for a thorough investigation into allegations of corruption and financial impropriety.
The narrative took a significant turn in 2025, when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge sheet implicating UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi as primary accused. This charge sheet, Sherpa revealed, contained evidence suggesting that Associated Journals Ltd., the publisher of the National Herald, had received an irregular 90 crore rupees from the Congress Party, contravening the Representation of People Act and the Income Tax Act.
Sherpa alleged that the Congress Party engaged in illicit financial transactions, channeling funds into Associated Journals Ltd., which was subsequently rescued through money laundering. The company’s restructuring into Young Indian Limited, with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as principal owners, further compounded the allegations.
“We want to make it clear that the judiciary in India is independent and working on the basis of justice. The Congress Party must prove its innocence in court, instead of blaming the BJP,” Sherpa concluded, asserting the impartiality of the Indian judicial system and challenging the Congress Party to address the allegations directly through legal channels.
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