Congress Party has lent over Rs.90 crore to the long defunct news paper National Herald (owned by Associated Journals) established by Jawaharlal Nehru in the pre-Independence era.
- Subramaniam Swamy
Subramaniam Swamy, the one-man army against Congress, has written to the Election Commission asking it to de-recognise Congress because, in his opinion, the loan violates the provisions of the Income Tax Act and Representation of People Act. Well, we don’t know. We are not legal luminaries.
BJP and Arun jaitley have joined the chorus against Congress.
Deciding, perhaps, that offense is the best form of defense, Congress has been making aggressive statements refuting Swamy, Jaitley, and BJP.
BJP is of the opinion that the loan has been given because of considerations of the real estate value involved and not for propagating the ideology of Congress. (Do political parties have any ideology really – other than grabbing power somehow?) Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman, spokesperson for BJP, said: “This act appears to have been done far more for its real estate value. Parties cannot inadvertently become a conduit for money laundering.”
(We cannot but agree with Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman when she says that political parties cannot be allowed to become a conduit for money laundering. But then do political parties maintain transparency in their financial transactions and accounts? Why don’t they all do something about it?)
In the face of Arun Jaitley’s criticsm that a political party could use its funds only for political purposes and not for any commercial purposes, Congress spokesman Janardan Dwivedi said that the loans were interest-free and yielded no commercial profit to the party.
Responding to Arun Jaitley’s criticism, Dwivedi also said: “Who will decide what political work for any party? We will decide what is political work for us and not any other party. BJP will not be allowed to decide what is political work for us. For some parties spreading rumour and unrest is political work.” Janardan Dwivedi went on to add: “To promote the Gandhi-Nehru thought is political work and to encourage the people, organisations and instruments working for the cause. We have discharged our political dharma because Associated Journals has worked to promote the Gandhi-Nehru thought.”
Brave words. Strong words. But hardly convincing or inspiring despite the name-dropping.
(Why has Congress suddenly become enamoured of using this word “dharma”? It was “coalition dharma” then and it is “political dharma” now! Does it mean that Sanskrit has become fashionable again? Or does it indicate a depletion of political diction?)
About the acquisition of shares in Associated Journals (which owns National herald) by Young Indian, Dwivedi said: “The existence of Associated Journals has not come to an end. Young Indian has got the shares of it. Any organisation can keep its existence as long as it serves the purpose for which it exists. Associated Journals is being made functional. That’s all.”
Is that all, indeed? We doubt it.
Why is the loan interest free? Is Congress a charitable organsiation?
Why has Congress suddenly woken up to its “political dharma” and the need to promote Gandhi-Nehru thought which all of us reasonably suspect to have been dumped in the deep oceans? Gandhi and Nehru must have been stirring uneasily in their graves watching the so-called economic reforms of the present day Congress!!
Is, as Dwivedi put it, Congress making Associated Journals functional? If it is, the million-dollar question is “Why?”
Not many would perhaps buy the words of Dwivedi about the benefits to the employees of Associated Journals/National Herald. People are naive alright but …
The truth is perhaps something else. And there is nothing particularly dishonourable about it.
In the face of allegations of different scams of varying – but huge – amounts, the Congress Party perhaps finds it necessary to have a newspaper – its own mouthpiece – to mount counter-offensive even as it tries to defend itself. Yes, the loan conforms to a kind of political dharma; after all, every political party – every person, including a legal persona, in fact – has a right (nay, a duty!) to defend himself/itself and attack its opponents. So they need radio, television, newspapers, movies … Perhaps every party needs a Goebbels too.
And then the next General Elections are due in about two years; and Congress which is being shaken to the core by frequent allegations of scams of different kinds needs its own mouthpiece.
That perhaps is all that is there to it.
Given that, why do political parties rake up that nebulous thing called “dharma”? Why don’t they leave “dharma” alone in its grave (chatting, perhaps, at times with the equally lonely Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Jayaprakash Narayan, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Lokmanya Balagangadhar Tilak, and the like in their Heavenly Abode) ?
What is “political dharma”? What is “coalition dharma”? What is “dharma”? Do we have any dharma at all? Why do political parties rake up something which has been long buried?
Tags: Associated Journals Coalition dharma Congress de-recognition of Congress Election Commission Janardan Dwivedi loan by congress to Associted Journals Loan by congress to National Herald Loan to National Herald National Herald Political dharma Revival of Netional herald Subramaniam Samy asks Election Commission to de-recognise Congress Subramaniam Swamy
