Congress cannot give loans, it is not a charitable body, says Swamy

New Delhi: Keeping up with his attack on the Congress, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy on Saturday slammed it saying it wasn't a charitable organisation to extend loans. Breaking its silence, the Congress on Friday rejected allegations levelled by Swamy and maintained that its support to National Herald newspaper was interest free loans yielding no commercial profit to the party.

Swamy, however, termed it a confession by the Congress of its "loan crime" and said that he would file a petition with the Election Commission of India seeking to de-recognise the party. Tweeting early on Saturday, Swamy said, "After the Congress confession of the loan crime (on Friday), I am filing a petition today before the ECI seeking de-recognition of Congress party."

On Friday, Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a release that the Congress had done its duty in supporting The Associated Journals Limited to help initiate a process to bring the newspaper back to health in compliance with the law of the land. "This support was extended by the Indian National Congress in the form of interest-free loans from which no commercial profit has accrued to INC," the release said.

A day earlier, Swamy addressed a press conference in which he alleged that Congress party gave a loan of Rs 90 crores to Associated Journals that published the now defunct National Herald and Quami Awaz, which was in violation of Income Tax and election laws. He had also said that a new company Young Indian was floated to take over the functioning of Associated Journals by Sonia and Rahul to grab a prized building in the capital and renting it out in violation of laws.

Dwivedi said the object of Congress is the well-being and advancement of the people of India and the establishment in India, by peaceful and constitutional means of a social state based on Parliamentary democracy in which there is equality of opportunity and of political, economic and social rights and which aims at world peace and fellowship.

"In furtherance of its object and its political activities, it is a matter of pride for the Indian National Congress that it has supported The Associated Journals Limited, publisher of the National Herald and other newspapers, founded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937, which have played a role in our freedom movement.

"The Indian National Congress has done its duty in supporting The Associated Journals to help initiate a process to bring the newspaper back to health in compliance with the laws of the land," Dwivedi said.