The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday hit out at Rahul Gandhi and asked for the reassessment of his leadership after the Congress President and his mother Sonia failed to get any relief from the Delhi High Court which dismissed their challenge to reopening of their tax assessments for 2011-12.

The rejection of the pleas of the top Congress leaders, including Oscar Fernandes, will pave the way for the Income Tax Department to scrutinise their records for the assessment year 2011-12.

The "writ petitions have to fail," a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla said while clarifying that the observations in the order with regard to the contentions of the Congress leaders is not c

onclusive and are recorded for the purpose of disposing of these petitions.

Calling Rahul Gandhi a corrupt tax evader, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "National Herald is a classic case of CONGRESS’ Corruption, Cheating, Concealing, Conspiracy, and not just tax reassessment." 

Patra also said that leadership reassessment of Rahul Gandhi should be performed. "Can a Corrupt Tax evader &One who concealed truth from Indian Law be allowed to continue as leader," Patra asked in a tweet.

National Herald is a classic case of CONGRESS’
Corruption
Cheating
Concealing
Conspiracy

Not just TAX Reassessment
LEADERSHIP Reassessment of Rahul Gandhi should be performed

Can a Corrupt Tax evader &One who concealed truth from Indian Law be allowed to continue as leader? pic.twitter.com/HJUu3M8Oqx

— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 11, 2018

The income tax probe against the Congress leaders  have  arisen from the investigation into the private criminal complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy before a trial court in connection with the National Herald case.

A tax evasion petition (TEP) was also addressed to the Finance Minister by Swamy.

In the complaint before the trial court, Sonia, Rahul and others have been accused of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just Rs 50 lakh, through which the Young Indian (YI), not-for-profit organisation, had obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) owed to the Congress party.

It was alleged that YI, which was incorporated in November 2010 with a capital of Rs 50 lakh, had acquired almost all shareholdings of the AJL, which was running the National Herald newspaper.

In this process, YI had also acquired AJL's debt of Rs 90 crore.

The tax department had said the shares Rahul has in YI would lead him to have an income of Rs 154 crore and not about Rs 68 lakh, as was assessed earlier.

It has already issued a demand notice for Rs 249.15 crore to YI for the assessment year 2011-12.