After all the drama that erupted ever since Subramanian Swamy lodged a case against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for embezzling funds through the defunct newspaper National Herald, the case has taken a new turn, when the concerned court of the Chief Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, as directed by Delhi High Court, refused to entertain an application filed by Dr. Swamy that asked the Gandhis to either admit or deny the documents that have been filed by him.
But hold on! Before you think this is a major setback for the man who has vowed to expose the dirty tricks performed by Sonia Gandhi and her son, the court is merely asking him not to jump the gun in the course of the proceedings. While they’ve refused to entertain the petition no doubt, they have allowed Swamy to summon those documents as evidence. They have also stated that the proceeding must be wrapped up with a year.
This is the latest development in a case that had brought the parliament to a standstill in 2015, when the court refused the Gandhi scion an exemption from appearing in the court. The much talked about GST was intentionally delayed by the scheming Congress members of parliament, who had created a ruckus against the alleged insult to their patrons by a mere court summon, causing a loss of approximately two to five lakh crore rupees (the exact figure is still in dispute) to the national exchequer.
For those who are unaware, the National Herald scam case is a scam in which the Congress top brass, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are believed to have minted millions from an ailing news agency called National Herald. National Herald had become defunct by 2008. According to the court proceedings, as made public, the accused are allegedly charged with the following provisions:
• Misappropriation of property
• Criminal breach of trust
• Cheating
• Criminal conspiracy under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
The following people are accused of the offence, as petitioned by Dr. Subramanian Swamy:
1. Sonia Gandhi, Ex NAC Chairperson and MP from Rae Bareli
2. Rahul Gandhi, current President of Congress Party and MP from Amethi
3. Motilal Vora, ex AICC treasurer
4. Oscar Fernandes, ex Youth Affairs and Sports Minister and AICC General Secretary
5. Suman Dubey
6. Sam Pitroda, ex Chairman of National Knowledge Commission and ex advisor to the Prime Minister
7. The officials of Young Indian magazine
Now that the court has stressed upon the acceleration of the proceedings, how does this work out for BJP and Congress? For BJP, the acceleration in the proceedings will be nothing less than a golden opportunity, and provided that this case is settled before 2019 elections, a favorable outcome will give BJP infinite ammunition for charging into the unholy alliance of the opposition head on.
A united opposition, irrespective of their own sins, could jeopardize BJP’s chances of returning back to power in style. However, if the Congress top brass is actually found guilty, this would send the opposition into a disarray, and the subsequent tussle for power will only benefit BJP further in their road to winning the 2019 elections. The ball is now, actually, in the court.