News Analysis India

Tag: Pawan Kumar Bansal

  • National Herald case: Congress leader Pawan Bansal appears before ED

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday appeared before the ED here for questioning in a money laundering case related to the party-promoted Young Indian that owns National Herald newspaper, officials said.

    The former Union minister arrived with a bunch of files at the new Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarters located in central Delhi around 10.30 AM.

    His statement will be recorded by the agency under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.

    The ED had on Monday questioned senior Congress politician and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge for about five hours in connection with the case.

    The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited.

    Kharge is stated to be the CEO of the Young Indian while Bansal (73) is the managing director of AJL and also the interim treasurer of the Congress.

    The questioning of the veteran Congress leaders is part of ED’s investigation to understand the share holding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said.

    The agency registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013, sources had said.

    The agency is expected to summon other promoters of the Young Indian soon.

    The first family of the Congress party, including party president Sonia Gandhi and her MP-son Rahul Gandhi, are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.

    After the ED examined Kharge on Monday, the Congress party’s whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore accused the government of “harassing” the senior Congress leader.

    Tagore said the government “wants to insult Dalit leaders”, and added Kharge would not surrender to such tactics.

    Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to the Congress.

    The Delhi High Court had in February last year issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response on Swamy’s plea seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court.

    They, however, contended in the Delhi High Court that the petition was “misconceived and premature”.

    The other accused in this case are journalist-author Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda.

    They have earlier denied any wrongdoing.

  • Baghel to play key role in Congress’ UP poll preparation; meets Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is likely to play a key role in preparing the Congress organisation in Uttar Pradesh for the assembly polls next year with a focus on strategising and booth management, sources said on Sunday.

    Baghel, who had played a crucial role in the run up to the Assam Assembly polls with his team carrying out extensive booth training of party workers, met Congress general secretary in-charge Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal and Rajeev Shukla here at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence.

    According to sources, Priyanka Gandhi has asked Chhattisgarh Congress leaders be sent to Uttar Pradesh, and during the meeting, an outline of booth management and worker’s conference in the poll-bound state was also discussed.

    There was also a discussion on intensifying the activities of the Congress organisation in Uttar Pradesh.

    On the recommendation of Baghel, his parliamentary advisor Rajesh Tiwari has been made AICC secretary-in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.

    Amid speculation about an agreement in 2018 that Baghel would be chief minister of Chhattisgarh for two and a half years after which the state’s health minister, T S Singhdeo, would take over, Baghel told reporters that he had taken oath after the high command asked him to and if the party top brass asks someone else to step in, it will be so.

    However, sources in the Baghel camp said the party’s top leadership has assured him that he would continue as the chief minister.

    P L Punia, the AICC in-charge Chhattisgarh, said the speculation over leadership change was only in the media and was not true.

    “Whatever is being circulated in the media (about leadership change) has no truth in it and there is no such agreement or decision on it that is being talked about,” Punia told PTI.

    Asked if Baghel would continue as the chief minister, he answered in the affirmative.

    Baghel had also met Punia at the latter’s residence here earlier in the day before heading back to Chhattisgarh.