Petitioner Swamy makes explosive charge

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Thursday (June 26) leveled serious allegations against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, accusing them of taking over assets worth Rs 1,600 crore belonging to the defunct party mouthpiece National Herald. Swamy, who is now part of the BJP-led NDA and is close to RSS, also accused the Gandhis of diverting Congress party's funds to the family-controlled enterprise, and of letting out a part of Herald House to the passport division in blatant violation of the lease condition stipulating that the premises could be used only for publishing a newspaper.Demanding a probe by the CBI and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, the Janata Party president also alleged that Rahul had not disclosed his shareholding in Associated Journals, the holding company of National Herald, to the Election Commission: an offence under the Representation of People's Act.