The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, 16 June, issued fresh summons to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to join the investigation in the National Herald case on 20 June, granting his request considering the illness of his mother and interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
This comes after Rahul Gandhi requested the agency to give him relaxation from appearing for questioning from 17 to 20 June citing his mother's health condition.
Sonia Gandhi had tested positive for COVID-19 on 2 June and was expected to turn up for questioning at the agency offices on Wednesday, 8 June. However, she asked for three more weeks since she was still COVID positive and in isolation.
Later, a fresh summons was issued to the Congress president on 10 June, asking her to appear before the ED on 23 June regarding the case.
The ED has been grilling Rahul for the past three days, i.e. 13-15 June, and the Wayanad MP was asked to appear before it again on Friday and rejoin the investigation.
Congress Workers Protest Against Probe
Meanwhile, Congress workers held protests in several states on Thursday, against Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the ED.
Congress workers protested in Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Nagaland, Jaipur, Punjab, Chennai, Uttar Pradesh, Thiruvananthapuram, and Puducherry.
Several state Congress units called for statewide protests against the probe agency’s marathon questioning over money laundering charges.
Several leaders, including Sachin Pilot, Anil Kumar, KC Venugopal, and Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas BV, were detained and then released.
The National Herald Case
The ED had recently registered the case to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted group Young Indian, which owns the National Herald newspaper.
The ED wants to record the statements of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The summons to the Gandhis came after the probe agency questioned Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal in relation to the case.
The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the ED's investigation to understand the share holding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials had said.
The agency registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court in Delhi took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
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