National Herald Case: BJYM holds protest against Congress in Shimla

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], April 19 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) staged a strong protest in Shimla on Saturday, targeting the Congress party over the National Herald case.
Protesters burnt an effigy of Rahul Gandhi and accused the Congress of large-scale corruption.
Sushil Kadsholi, the BJYM Himachal Pradesh President, led the protest and launched a sharp attack on the Congress leadership.
"Whenever the name 'National Herald' comes up, the Congress loses its cool. The whole issue involves misappropriation of crores of rupees in the name of a newspaper that we have never seen or read in Himachal Pradesh," said Kadsholi.

He alleged that despite its lack of visibility or circulation, the Himachal Pradesh government, under Congress ruled, awarded crores of rupees in advertisement funds to the National Herald. "A new company was created, with 76 per cent shareholding belonging to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. When the original National Herald was already being run by AJL, why was it necessary to create a new company?" Kadsholi questioned.
He elaborated on the alleged scam. "A loan of Rs 90 crore was transferred to the new company, Young Indian, and AJL was purchased for just Rs 50 lakh each by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The loan was waived off. Can a political party give loans? That is the real question," he said.
Kadsholi also highlighted that the Congress has been claiming the entire transaction is clean, but he countered it by pointing out that the investigation began in 2012, when the Congress was in power at the Centre.
"If the process is so clean, why is Congress so agitated about the investigation? If the newspaper was truly functioning, why did Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have to buy it?" he said.
He criticised the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister as well. "It is shocking that our state's Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore in advertisements to the National Herald. You are all journalists--has anyone ever met a journalist from National Herald in Himachal?" he asked.
Kadsholi said the protest was aimed at raising public awareness. "The National Herald case is a model of the Congress's corruption. That is why we are protesting, to expose this to the people," he said.
"We burnt Rahul Gandhi's effigy and the police were sent to stop us. But when the Prime Minister's effigy was burnt, no one came to stop that. Why these double standards?" Kadsholi asked.
"If the police want to protect their image, they should act fairly. We are not seeing this under the current government," he said, expressing disappointment over the administration's response to the protest. (ANI)