NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in a money laundering case. The notice issued in the National Herald case, has asked to appear before June 8. The Congress came forward criticising ED soon after the notice was issued.

Senior Congress leader and lawyer Manu Abhishek Singhvi accused the BJP for using puppet investigative agencies to intimidate political opponents. The ED closed the case in 2015. However, the central government replaced the concerned officials and instructed new officials to resume the case. Singhvi said it was a move by the BJP government to divert attention from issues including inflation.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a case accusing Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi of cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring the ownership of National Herald newspaper, founded by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Sonia and Rahul had denied the allegations then.

Accusations of cheating, conspiracy and criminal breach of trust in the acquisition of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which ran the Congress mouthpiece, National Herald, by Young Indian Pvt Ltd have been levelled in the case. Swamy said Sonia and Rahul have a 76 % stake in Young Indian. AJL stopped the publication and terminated employees after giving compensation. Promises to resume the publication were not followed.