On Monday, the Delhi Patiala House Court changed the date of cross-examination from January 8, 2019 to Jan 11 for senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy’s cross-examination in the National Herald case, filed by him against the Congress President Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia Gandhi and others.
National Herald case: Delhi's Patiala House Court changes the date of cross-examination of the complainant (Subramanian Swamy) from 8th January to 11th January.
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2018
The High court also dismissed the petition of Congress senior leader Motilal Vora seeking to restrain Swamy from tweeting about the case. This is a victory of free speech. It also shows Congress’ love for ‘freedom of speech and expression.’
National Herald Case: Delhi's Patiala House Court dismisses the petition of Congress senior leader Motilal Vora seeking directions to restrain complainant (Subramanian Swamy) from posting tweets regarding the case.
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2018
In his petition, Vora has alleged that Swamy is trying to influence the court proceedings with his tweets. Subramanian Swamy denied the allegation and maintained that he has “every right to tweet”. Vora had earlier told the High court that Subramanian Swamy was indulging in “character assassination” of the accused by tweeting.
The National Herald case is a corruption case in which the Congress’ top brass, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are alleged 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 provisions of misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
The following people are accused of the offence, as petitioned by Dr. Subramanian Swamy :
Sonia Gandhi, Ex NAC Chairperson and MP from Rae Bareli.
Rahul Gandhi, current President of Congress Party and MP from Amethi.
Motilal Vora, ex AICC treasurer.
Oscar Fernandes, ex Youth Affairs and Sports Minister and AICC General Secretary.
Sam Pitroda, ex Chairman of National Knowledge Commission and ex advisor to the Prime Minister.
The officials of Young Indian magazine.
National Herald case could turn out to be a major headache for the Congress if the High court decides to give its final decision prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It has already been a touchy topic for the Congress leader and especially for the Nehru-Gandhi family which is directly related to the case. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi being the prime accused in the case makes it a vital case as far the prospects of the party in the upcoming elections are concerned. A decision which is unlikely to go in their favor coupled with a timing which is before the 2019 elections will badly damage the reputation of Congress and make it impossible for them to project Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the opposition. The public backlash which is sure to follow a defeat in the court case will also make their future look even bleaker.
Subramanian Swamy is trying everything to make sure that Congress has no room to escape from this case. His continued efforts in this regard are commendable and going by how sure he is of Congress leaders being at fault, the decision which is going to come sooner or later will surely be painful for Congress.