NEW DELHI, June 13: Amidst protest demonstrations by a large number of party workers, the Congress former national president Rahul Gandhi on a summon from the Enforcement Directorate reached the office of the central agency on Monday morning and was questioned for the entire day in a money laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper.
Gandhi started from the Congress office on the Akbar Road in New Delhi accompanied by a battery of party leaders including his sister and the AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Vaghel among others.
Gandhi, who entered the headquarters of the federal agency in central Delhi around 11.10 a.m., was put to questioning about 20 minutes later after he finished some brief legal proceedings and marked his attendance. He was allowed by the ED to leave for lunch around 2:10 p.m. and he returned for the questioning around 3:30 p.m., officials said.
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 money laundering probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper published by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt. Limited. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.
In view of the Congress demonstrations, the police had created barricades at different places due to which Gandhi took a detour to reach the probe agency’s office. This is the first time that Gandhi has appeared before a Central probe agency for questioning in a case.
Ahead of the proposed march by the Congress leaders, the Delhi Police imposed Section 144 CrPC in the area around party headquarters at Akbar Road asking them not to violate the law. But hours before he was scheduled to appear before the ED, a large number of Congress workers who had gathered for a demonstration near the Congress office were detained by the police and taken to Mandir Marg police station, officials said.
“The Congress party will fight this oppression by the Modi government,” Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas BV said. “We are not scared. The Modi Government should be ashamed that they have turned central Delhi into a fortress just because our leader is going to the ED with his supporters,” he said just before he was detained by the police.
Members of the opposition party have hit the streets in support of corruption and to allegedly protect over ₹2,000 crore assets of the Gandhi family, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani alleged as protests were staged in multiple cities.
Addressing a press conference, she said the show of strength by the Congress is aimed at putting pressure on the probe agency and asserted that nobody is above the law, (not) “even Rahul Gandhi.”
(Manas Dasgupta)