New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was on Thursday questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for nearly three hours in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, reported NDTV.
The 75-year-old reached the agency’s headquarters in central Delhi a little after noon. Unidentified officials told PTI she is likely to be called for another round of questioning in the next couple of days.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her mother, reported NDTV. The Congress chief had requested the agency to allow Vadra to stay with her as she keeps her medicines.
Members of the Congress staged protests across the country on Thursday morning. They alleged that the Enforcement Directorate’s action reflected the “vendetta politics” of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government. The police used water cannons to control the protesting Congress workers in Delhi.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and party MLA Sachin Pilot were detained in the national capital, ANI reported. “It’s our right to protest in a democracy, but it is also being crushed upon,” Pilot said.
Earlier on Thursday, 12 Opposition parties issued a joint statement against the Modi government’s “relentless vendetta against political opponents” through misuse of investigating agencies.
The statement said that prominent political leaders have been deliberately targeted and subjected to harassment in an unprecedented manner. The Opposition parties vowed to intensify their collective fight against the Modi government.
The signatories include leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Indian Union Muslim League, National Conference and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Gehlot and Congress leader Pawan Khera also held a press conference in Delhi and accused the BJP of misusing central agencies.
“There is a conspiracy to silence us and stop us,” they said. “Intent to silence the Opposition.”
Gehlot said the misuse of central agencies showed that democracy was in danger in India, ANI reported. “Our fight is to save the nation,” he added. “Today, if they [BJP] would have been in our place, they would have indulged in arson.”
Gehlot said that the Enforcement Directorate should first hold a press conference to reveal under what charges Gandhi is being questioned, PTI reported.
