Bhubaneswar

Congress Workers Scuffle With Police In Bhubaneswar As Sonia Gandhi Appears Before ED

By
OB Bureau

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”.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Hina Khan Shares Warm Post For ‘Humble And Kind’ Salman Khan

Mumbai: Television actress Hina Khan, who is battling breast cancer, recently met host Salman Khan…

November 23, 2024

AR Rahman Sends Legal Notice To Defamers Over Link-Up Rumours With Mohini Dey

 Mumbai: Following reports of his alleged link-up with bassist Mohini Dey, renowned music composer AR…

November 23, 2024

Tamannah Bhatia & Vijay Varma Go House Hunting; Is Marriage On Cards?

Mumbai: The love story of actors Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma has not been clandestine.…

November 23, 2024

Puri Jagannath Temple Admn Receives Ratna Bhandar GPR-GPS Survey Report; Asks ASI To Start Repair Work

Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has received the report of the Ratna Bhandar’s GPR-GPS…

November 23, 2024

Book Review: A Redemptive Tale Of Losing And Finding

With his debut novel ‘The Other Side of the Rainbow’ published recently, Niranjan Nayak, an…

November 23, 2024

Santosh Trophy: Odisha Seal Spot In Final Round With 2 Big Wins

Bhubaneswar: Odisha outplayed Chhattisgarh 4-1 on Saturday to seal a berth in the final round…

November 23, 2024

Diljit Dosanjh Asks States To Go Dry; ‘I Will Then Stop Singing Songs On Alcohol’

Mumbai: The Telangana government’s notice barring him from singing songs promoting alcohol and drugs at…

November 23, 2024

PM Modi To Participate In ‘Odisha Parba 2024’ In Delhi Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the ‘Odisha Parba 2024’ programme on Sunday…

November 23, 2024