ED grills senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in National Herald case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case.

The 79-year-old Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was summoned to appear before the federal agency with regard to the probe, the ED officials said.

His statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as the agency wants to understand some issues in the investigation, officials said.

In 2012, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a complaint before a trial court alleging that some Congress leaders were involved in cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd by Young Indian Ltd (YIL).

He had alleged that YIL had 'taken over' the assets of the National Herald, a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, in a 'malicious' way.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, journalist Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda had been named in the National Herald case.