Rahul Gandhi appeared before the ED around 11:10 am. The Congress MP from Wayanad in Kerala has been summoned by the central probe agency in connection with a money laundering linked to the National Herald newspaper
Rahul Gandhi appears before ED. Twitter/@INCIndia
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned for about two-and-a-half hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) before he was allowed to leave for lunch around 2:10 pm on Monday.
The Congress MP from Wayanad in Kerala has been summoned by the ED in connection with a money laundering linked to the National Herald newspaper.
Rahul Gandhi is expected to join the questioning again and resume the recording of his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the lunch break.
Rahul Gandhi appeared before the ED on Monday around 11:10 am. Hw was accompanied by a large number of Congress leaders and was escorted by armed CRPF personnel.
The Congress leader has a Z+ category protectee of the CRPF after the Union government in 2019 withdrew the Gandhi family’s SPG cover.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of central Delhi that were heavily barricaded.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi and across the country took to the streets in protest of ED summon issued to Rahul Gandhi and party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi.
Several senior leaders, including Randeep Surjewala, KC Venugopal, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been detained by the police for violating the orders in the national capital.
Addressing the media, minutes ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s appearance before ED, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said that the party started Young Indian and the majority of the money went into paying salaries to journalists and staff.
He further claimed that there is no money-laundering in the National Herald matter and the loan given to the newspaper was for payment of salaries of journalists and to address other expenses.
“It became difficult to run National Herald and Journals Limited. Journalists could not be paid. The merger was done to pay journalists their salaries,” the Congress general secretary said.
Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani at a press conference in New Delhi today alleged that the members of the opposition party have hit the streets in support of corruption and to allegedly protect over Rs 2,000 crore assets of the Gandhi family
She further said that 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”.
With inputs from agencies
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