Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, labeling a fresh legal complaint against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as an act of "political vendetta." His strong reaction came hours after the federal probe agency filed a new First Information Report (FIR) with the Delhi Police in the long-running National Herald case.
Kharge's Accusation of Political Targeting
In a post on social media platform X, Kharge condemned the timing and intent of the new FIR. He argued that after twelve years, the Modi government and the ED, having run out of new allegations, were resorting to theatrics. "When facts ran thin, theatrics stepped in: selective prosecutions, recycled allegations, and a thinly veiled attempt to keep opponents in the dock," Kharge stated. He expressed confidence that the judiciary would see through these attempts and described the move as "mindless attempts to hound" the opposition.
Details of the Fresh ED Complaint
The Enforcement Directorate's latest complaint forms the basis of the new FIR. The agency has alleged a "serious criminal conspiracy and financial fraud" involving properties originally allotted to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper. According to the ED, these properties were given by the government at highly concessional rates for public welfare purposes.
The central allegation is that these assets were illegally diverted for private gain by the beneficial owners of Young Indian, a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi hold major stakes. The ED claims the accused orchestrated a fraudulent takeover of AJL properties valued at over Rs 2,000 crore for a mere Rs 50 lakh.
Furthermore, the FIR details methods allegedly used to disguise the illicit funds. It accuses the individuals of generating bogus rent receipts and creating fake advertising revenue to launder the proceeds of crime, presenting them as legitimate income. The ED has already filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in this matter.
The Political Backdrop and Reactions
The development has ignited a fresh political firestorm, coinciding with the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament where the BJP has been cornering the Congress on the National Herald issue. Kharge's vehement response sets the stage for another major confrontation between the ruling party and the principal opposition. The Congress maintains that the case is a politically motivated tool to smear the Gandhi family and undermine the party, a charge consistently denied by the government and the investigating agencies.
With the new FIR, the legal and political battles surrounding the National Herald case are poised to intensify, keeping the spotlight firmly on the Gandhis and the Congress party's leadership in the coming days.
