New Delhi: A scuffle broke out between Congress party workers and the police at Rajmahal Square in Bhubaneswar on Thursday as party president Sonia Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.
She reached the federal probe agency’s headquarters at Vidyut Lane in central Delhi a little after noon, accompanied by her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Priyanka was allowed to stay in the ‘Pravartan Bhawan’ headquarters of the agency, away from the questioning room, to be able to attend to her in case of a health issue. Sonia, 75, was diagnosed with COVID recently.
The Congress chief is deposing on the third summons as she sought exemption on earlier dates of June 8 and June 23 owing to the infection. Her son and Congress MP Rahul was questioned by the agency for over 50 hours in sessions spread across five days last month in connection with the alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.
According to ED sources, Sonia would be asked about her role in the deal between Young India (YI) and Associated Journal Ltd (AJL). Earlier Rahul had said that late Moti Lal Vora was looking after these affairs. Vora held 12 per cent stakes in YI whereas Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi held 76 per cent stakes in it.
The ED had earlier said that Gandhis are major beneficiaries in the whole deal. Earlier, Pawan Bansal and Mallikarjuna Kharge were questioned by the ED. Since Vora has passed away, the needle of suspicion pointed at Gandhis.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of Congress workers took out padayatra from Congress Bhawan to the ED office in Bhubaneswar, protesting against the summons to the party’s interim president. The scuffle broke out after protestors were stopped by police near Rajmahal Square.
The party has slammed the agency’s action against its top leadership and called it a “political vendetta”.
