National Herald case: ED quizzes Sonia Gandhi for two hours, allows her to leave on medical grounds
National Herald case: ED quizzes Sonia Gandhi for two hours, allows her to leave on medical grounds
New Delhi: After two hours of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald money laundering case, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi left the agency's office for the day.
Now fresh summons has been issued to Sonia Gandhi so far. The federal probe agency began question the Congress interim president around 12:30 pm on Wednesday after the completion of formalities including verification of summons and signatures in the attendance sheet, news agency PTI quoted sources as saying.
They further informed that Sonia Gandhi was allowed to leave on request made on medical grounds. The Congress chief is recovering from health ailments after being tested positive for COVID-19 last month.
She appeared today before the ED after the third summon. She sought exemption on earlier dates of 8 June and 23 June after she contracted coronavirus infection.
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The probe relates to alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.
Congress continues to protest
Congress workers and supporters across the country continued to protest against the ED's summon to Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case.
According to a report by India Today, protesting party workers blocked trains at congregated at Delhi's Shivaji Bridge railway station. Total of three trains were stopped at the station by agitating party workers.
Party MPs and Congress Working Committee (CWC) members "courted mass arrest" outside the AICC headquarters in the national capital Delhi on Thursday in a show of collective solidarity with her.
With protests intensifying in various parts of Delhi, Police had to use water cannons to disperse agitating Congress workers and supporters.
In Bengaluru, Youth Congress workers protesting against Sonia Gandhi's ED questioning set a car ablaze. Police arrested six cadres in connection with the incident.
BJP attacks Congress for protest
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked the Congress for protesting against ED summon to Sonia Gandhi. "If Gandhi family is spotless, why is it anxious? If they have not indulged in corruption then why this ruckus. It's the duty of probe agencies to investigate people involved in corruption," Union Minister Anurag Thakur said.
The ruling BJP termed the protest as Congress' "duragrah" (obstinate demand) for protecting the Gandhi family.
"This is not 'satyagrah' but 'duragrah' against the country, its laws and its agencies," said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
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"This is also a 'duragrah' for protecting the family which has 'pocketed' the party's assets worth thousands of crores of rupees," he further alleged.
The Congress party has described its protests against ED's summon to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case as "satyagrah", which is a form of protest associated with Mahatma Gandhi.
With inputs from agencies
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