National Herald case: 'Hooda gave Panchkula plot to AJL at throwaway price'

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has charged the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress Government in the state with bending rules and giving 3,360 square metres of prime land in Panchkula to Associated Journals Ltd.

He said, the land was given to Associated Journals Ltd, the publisher of The National Herald newspaper, in upscale Sector 6 of Panchkula just six months after the Hooda government came to power in Haryana in 2005 at throwaway prices.

"We hope the matter will be inquired into as entire National Herald case is before the court," Vij said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi have been asked to appear in court on December 19th in the National Herald case, which is the earliest possible date given by the court.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy had accused the Congress president and vice president of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just Rs 50 lakh, by which Young Indian (YI) obtained the rights to recover Rs. 90.25 crore which the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) had owed to the Congress Party.

Swamy had earlier alleged that over Rs 2,000 crore worth of assets also got transferred to YI, whose 76 percent of shareholding is with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, while the remaining 24 percent shareholding is with the other accused.