Modi, Amit Shah must resign, says Congress after Delhi court throws out ED case against National Herald

A day after a Delhi court dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s complaint in the National Herald-Young Indian case—terming it unmaintainable under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)—the Congress on Wednesday, 17 December, launched a full-scale political offensive, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Addressing the media in New Delhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the court’s ruling was “a slap in the face of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.” He added that the two leaders should resign and publicly commit to ending the harassment of political opponents through central agencies.

Terming the case against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi a clear instance of political vendetta, Kharge invoked the legacy of the National Herald.

“This newspaper was founded in 1938 by freedom fighters. Today, the BJP government is trying to defame that legacy by absurdly linking it to money laundering. There is nothing in this case—yet it has been weaponised to harass Congress leaders. This has become the Modi government’s standard method of political intimidation through the ED,” Kharge said.

Chairman of the AICC’s law, human rights and RTI department, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented the Congress in court, said the case was “not only driven by malice but also riddled with legal negligence.”

“This case shows the Constitution under pressure from power. The allegations floated in the air, while the law lay firmly on the ground,” Singhvi remarked.

Laying out the chronology, Singhvi underlined the extent of what he described as sustained harassment:

• Between 2021 and 2025, the ED summoned Rahul Gandhi repeatedly, questioning him for nearly 50 hours, while Sonia Gandhi was interrogated for about seven hours and Kharge for nearly six hours. During this period, multiple attachments and account freezes were carried out and even rental income from properties was blocked.

• The case originated in 2014, when Subramanian Swamy filed a private complaint. For the next seven years (2014–2021), both the CBI and the ED recorded internally that no predicate offence was made out and no FIR was registered.

• Abruptly, on June 30, 2021, an ED case was registered—only for the court now to refuse cognisance of the very same complaint. Congress leaders were interrogated “solely to harass them”.

• On October 3, 2025, a fresh FIR was filed. Why? To keep the pot boiling. “You cannot weaponise the PMLA and then plead ignorance of its basic legal requirements. This case has always been long on rhetoric and short on substance.”

• This was a “one-of-its-kind” PMLA case where not a single paisa has moved, nor has a single property changed hands.

• Associated Journals Limited (AJL) continues to own its properties. What took place was a standard debt-to-equity conversion, a common corporate practice. Young Indian, which holds AJL shares, remains a not-for-profit company, where no director can draw salary, dividends, perks, vehicles or any personal benefit.

“This is the clearest evidence of the misuse of investigative agencies. The real question is—who will be held accountable for this?” Singhvi asked. 

Addressinbg the media, Congress Congress General Secretary (Org.) K.C. Venugopal said the party will hold a nationwide protest against Modi government for misusing the central agencies

"We will expose the political vendetta on the streets of the country. For the past seven years, the Congress party has faced continuous harassment by the ED. We will demonstrate our strength across India to show how the ED is being systematically misused by the central government to target Opposition leaders," he added.