Picture : Twitter / ANI
The Congress party has sought action against Enforcement Directorate officials who ‘selectively leaked’ to some media houses information related to Rahul Gandhi’s questioning, as the party also served a legal notice on three Union ministers over the issue.
n the notice to Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Congress MP and legal cell head Vivek Tankha has asked them to stop using the ED as a tool to settle political scores, and desist from ‘spreading false narratives’ about the former Congress chief.
The notice comes in the wake of media reports claiming that Gandhi has told the ED that he has no knowledge about the dealings of Young India with Associated Journals, which publishes the National Herald, and that it was done by the late party treasurer Motilal Vora.
The notice also calls upon the ministers to fix responsibility on such officers of the Enforcement Directorate who have resorted to such ‘illegalities’.
“This is a judicial proceeding and selective leaks by the ED to malign Rahul Gandhi’s image is a criminal offence and an attempt to interfere with an ongoing judicial proceeding which is a second crime,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
“We have demanded that the responsibility of the ED officers be fixed and if not, the Congress party will be constrained to prosecute ED officers for fixation of officers and crimes by them,” he told PTI.
The notice asks them to ensure the Enforcement Directorate immediately stops spreading ‘false narratives about Rahul Gandhi for ulterior political motives and as a tool to settle political scores’.
‘I also call upon you (the ministers) to fix responsibility on such officer of the Enforcement Directorate who has resorted to such illegalities by causing the leaks,’ Tankha said in his notice.
Explaining why he served the legal notice on the ministers, Tankha said the ED is clearly acting at the ‘behest of its political masters’ and is carrying out political vendetta against Rahul Gandhi.
Senior Congress leader and former Finance minister P Chidambaram had earlier tweeted, Will the learned spokespersons of the BJP please answer the following questions: 1. Which is the ‘scheduled offence’ under PMLA that has triggered an investigation by ED? 2. Which police agency has registered an FIR in respect of the scheduled offence?
Will the learned spokespersons of the BJP please answer the following questions:
1. Which is the ‘scheduled offence’ under PMLA that has triggered an investigation by ED?
2. Which police agency has registered an FIR in respect of the scheduled offence?
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) June 14, 2022
