Congress party to relaunch National Herald

Neelabh Mishra named editor-in-chief of National Herald; all three loss-making publications were shut down in 2008

Faced with legal hassles over assets related to defunct newspaper National Herald, started in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress has decided to relaunch the publication.

According to a press release from the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publishers of the paper, journalist Neelabh Mishra has been appointed as editor-in-chief for National Herald and will build up his team.

The Congress will also revive Navjeevan, a Hindi daily, and Qaumi Awaz, an Urdu daily, from the AJL stable over the coming months, said Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, chairman of AJL.

The publications were shut by Congress in 2008 as they were incurring losses. Before Congress was defeated in 2014 national polls, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP)’s Subramanian Swamy had lodged a criminal case against the Gandhi family and some Congress leaders including Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, and Gandhi family loyalists Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, in 2012 saying funds were misappropriated. Swamy said the motive of the transaction was to acquire Rs 5,000-crore real estate the AJL owned in various cities of the country. Over the past two years, Congress adopted an aggressive stance on the case and disrupted Parliament several times to counter the BJP.

Both Sonia and Rahul had appeared in the local court to send a message that no wrong doing was involved and that they were ready to fight out the legal onslaught from the ruling BJP. Later they were granted exemption from personal appearance.

Nehru started the three papers years before he became the first prime minister of India.

The Congress said the tagline of the revived publications would be “freedom is in peril, defend it with all your might,” reflecting the mood in the party.

The papers would seek to give voice to Nehru’s vision also under assault from the BJP and would strive to occupy liberal, progressive and secular space while also reflecting the concerns of the underprivileged.