Sonia Gandhi Questioned, Congress Stops Trains, Burns Car

Sonia Gandhi ED Office
Sonia Gandhi ED Office

Sonia Gandhi Questioned: 75-year-old Sonia Gandhi was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for nearly three hours today on the first day of her appearance before the probe agency in an alleged money laundering case involving the National Herald newspaper.

Officials said Sonia Gandhi may be called for a second round of questioning in the next few days. He said that Mrs Gandhi, who had recently recovered from Covid, was questioned keeping in mind the Covid protocol, in which all the participants were equipped with a Covid negative certificate.

Mrs Gandhi was questioned by five officers led by a woman additional director, IndiNews. The investigating agency prepared 50 questions for the Congress President.

Sonia Gandhi reached the headquarters of the investigating agency in central Delhi sometime later in the afternoon. He was accompanied by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Officials said Ms Vadra was allowed to stay in the building ‘away from the interrogation room, so that she could stay with her mother and provide medicines to her in case of health issues.

The party has condemned the agency’s action and called it “political vendetta”. Several Congress leaders were detained as the party staged a nationwide demonstration in support of the party chief.

Congress leaders carrying big banners saying “Stop misuse of ED” today took out a march inside the Parliament premises as a show of strength against the Enforcement Directorate.  

A large number of demonstrations are also taking place across the country. According to reports, at some places, the protesters stopped trains and even torched vehicles.

“The prime minister forgets that his view of the Congress is based on the leaders he has taken from us,” the party said at a press conference called this morning. In order to understand what the Congress party is, what the Gandhi family is. Sometimes one has to be reborn.”

“We are opposing the ED’s summons to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. The AJL-Young India transaction has been recorded in the books of accounts, both in the returns filed by the companies and in the income tax returns.

Everything the ED wants to know can be found. In the records,” tweeted Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who was detained during protests in Delhi.

The BJP criticized the Congress’s protest as a “duragraha” (resolute demand) to protect the Gandhi family. Attacking the Gandhi family, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged, “Congress has become a pocket organization of a family, and now its wealth is also being pocketed by the family.”

Earlier today, around 13 opposition parties attended a meeting chaired by the Congress to discuss the “relentless political vendetta” by the Centre.

A statement issued by like-minded opposition parties condemned the BJP-led Centre’s “misuse” of investigative agencies. Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP has also given zero hours’ notice on “misuse of central investigative agencies by the ruling government”.

After the third summon, the Congress President appeared. She sought relaxation of the earlier dates of June 8 and June 23 after she contracted the coronavirus infection.

The ED is probing the role of the Gandhi family in the case, including the acquisition of AJL (Associated Journals Limited), a company that runs the National Herald newspaper, by Young Indian.

Founded by Mr. Gandhi’s grandfather and the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the newspaper was a Congress mouthpiece that later went completely online.