'Will not be scared,' says Sonia after she, son Rahul get bail in National Herald case

New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul appeared in a Delhi court today and were granted bail in a case that alleges they misused funds from the National Herald newspaper once run by their famed Nehru-Gandhi family.

Both leaders arrived at the Patiala Court premises a little before 3 pm, amid deafening sloganeering from thousands of supporters gathered outside. The two leaders smiled at assembled leaders, waved at supporters as they walked in. The court granted them bail in the next five minutes with a surety of Rs 50,000 each.

"The accused are reputed persons having deep political grassroots and there is no apprehension that they will flee," the Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen noted while granting them bail.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stood surety for Sonia, while Priyanka Vadra gave surety for her brother Rahul.

Later at the Congress headquarters, Sonia Gandhi addressed the media and said she had appeared in court like any a law-abiding citizen. She attacked the ruling party, and said: “These people can never distract us from our path. This government is relentlessly targeting opponents and misusing government agencies. Let me tell them, we shall not be scared. Our struggle for the poor will continue.”

Son Rahul made a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modio. He said: “Modiji puts false allegations and thinks the Opposition will bend. I want to tell every citizen that we will not be scared. We will not move an inch." The other accused in the case AICC Treasurer Moti Lal Vora, AICC General Secretary Oscar Fernandes and Suman Dubey were also granted bail. A K Antony stood surety for Fernandes and Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ajay Maken for the other accused.  Sam Pitroda, yet another accused, was granted exemption from personal appearance today on medical grounds.

On November 1, 2010, economist and politician Subramanian Swamy filed a case against Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi’s magistrate court alleging the mother-son duo had committed fraud and grabbed land worth billions by acquiring a publicly limited company called Associated Journals Limited (AJL) through their owned private company, Young Indian.

According to the complaint, the Congress party had granted an interest-free loan of Rs 90.25 crore to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the owners of the National Herald newspaper. He alleged the loan had either not been repaid or repaid in cash, both of which are in violation of the Income Tax Act.

Swamy in court argued that the Gandhis' passports be seized to prevent them from travelling out of India. But the judge denied his request and set bail without any condition. The next hearing is at 2pm on February 20.

In his reaction, Swamy said all their claims that they would not seek bail proved false. "They said they will not take bail. What happened now," he told reporters.

Delhi Patiala House court was cloaked in heavy security since morning to thwart any unprecedented incident from the thousands of party supporters who had gathered for the hearing. Court sources said senior officials of the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau reviewed security arrangements. Sixteen more CCTV cameras were installed in court premises today.

In the run-up to the appearance – the Metropolitan Magistrate judge had asked them to be present in person – the Congress and the BJP played out an all-out war in public with the Opposition attacking the ruling party of vendetta politics, while BJP leaders said the government had nothing to do with legal matters.

Daughter Priyanka Gandhi was there to support her mother and brother, as were former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and scores of other top congress leaders.

Congress leaders have continued to brand complainant Subramanian Swamy as a ‘mask’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the government of resorting to an ‘unprecedented level of vendetta politics”.

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Ghulam Nabi Azad said he was not afraid of being targeted, saying the more the party is attacked, the sooner it will return to power.

He said Swamy had been ‘rewarded’ by a Lutyens bungalow for dragging the Gandhis to court, even though he was not a Parliamentarian or government official.

“Swamy has got Z-category security and allotted a government bungalow. He is not a member of Parliament nor from a border state. He is not facing any threat from any terrorist organisation. The bungalow was given as an award for dragging the Congress leadership to court," said Azad. He added: “Before elections, BJP had given a call for a Congress-free India, now they are trying to have an Opposition-free India.”

Meanwhile, BJP leaders dismissed these allegations as ‘baseless and false’. Telecom Minister Ravi Prasad Shankar said: “The allegation of political vendetta is completely a baseless allegation. Nobody, neither the RSS nor the BJP has got anything to do with the case. The court has taken cognisance, and this was taken before the Modi government came to power that this is a matter of prima facie breach of trust." "The High Court heard how property worth Rs. 2,000 crores was misappropriated without informing shareholders and it took a decision. It is for the court to decide. They should face the court," he added.

He further slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for levelling false allegations against the ruling regime. "If Rahul Gandhi has a problem with the court, he can proceed to the Supreme Court. As far as our credibility is concerned, we have come by the people's support," he added.

Swamy had alleged that by acquiring a public-limited company through a private company, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had committed a fraud. They got publication rights of the papers as well as rights over the real estate, he has said. He said the six-storey office in Delhi was given by the government only for newspaper purposes, but now houses a passport office which pays rent. His case was against Young Indian directors Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and its shareholders Motilal Vohra and Oscar Fernandes.