Picture : Twitter / ANI
Amidst strong protest by the party and several senior leaders and workers, Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate which had summoned him in The National Herald money laundering case . The Congress MP reached the agency’s headquarters in New Delhi accompanied by a battery of party leaders and supporters.
Gandhi, who entered the headquarters of the federal agency in central Delhi around 11.10 am, was put to questioning about 20 minutes later after he finished some brief legal proceedings and marked his attendance.
#WATCH Congress leader Rahul Gandhi surrounded by hundreds of party workers marches to the Enforcement Directorate office to appear before the agency in the National Herald case pic.twitter.com/EN1sjuOqfx
— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2022
He was allowed by the ED to leave for lunch around 2:10 pm and he returned for the questioning around 3:30 pm, officials said.
Asper PTI report, It is understood that Gandhi wrote down his statement under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the first round of questioning.
The former Congress president first left for the ED office from the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road in the morning and was accompanied by party leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram.
Congress leader had slammed the Modi government over the misuse of agencies in their reaction . Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi have given the message that they will never compromise on the ideological fight against the BJP-led dispensation, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said and claimed the “arrogance” with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been acting will come to an end.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot quoted by ANI alleged that investigative agencies were being misused by the ruling BJP. “The manner in which 6-7 years-old cases against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were taken up, it is evident that politics of putting pressure on political opponents is being played,” he added.
The coward Modi govt has deployed many police barriers and police personnel and imposed an undeclared emergency in Central Delhi. This proves that the Modi govt is shaken by Congress, Chief party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala was quoted as saying by ANI
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said, “For the last eight years, central agencies have continuously registered cases against leaders in opposition… there is a continuous misuse of central agencies to suppress us… this cannot happen under democracy which is getting strangled; we oppose this.”
Leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the Gandhis were being harassed as part of vendetta politics. But, the Congress was doing ‘satyagraha’ over the ED action against Rahul Gandhi. “We’re doing satyagraha. No substance in false case of National Herald. To harass Sonia-Rahul Gandhi, they’re called to ED office. If they want to say something, it can be done through their lawyers. But making them sit for four hours and harassing them is political vendetta,” Kharge said, adding, “this is nothing but politics. We condemn this… Had there been a legal point in this case, it would not have taken eight years (for action). This is their method to harass people, but we will not be scared. We will continue to fight.”
We’re here from various parts of India to show solidarity with our party leadership and show the nation the blatant misuse of ED. All cases of ED are bogus…I’ve got ED notices the maximum times, so I’m the resident expert in Congress in the matters of ED, Karti Chidambaram, Cong MP told ANI
The Congress belligerence had BJP fuming, Union minister Smriti Irani said the Congress had taken to the streets to put pressure on a central probe agency such as the ED, as it was questioning Rahul Gandhi in a money laundering case. She said this was an attempt to protect the assets of the Gandhi family. “Congress leaders have taken to the streets to put pressure on an investigating agency openly because their corruption has been exposed. It’s an attempt to protect the assets of the Gandhi family,” the BJP MP told news agency ANI
