National Herald case: ED grills Rahul Gandhi for the second consecutive day
A day after being questioned for over 10 hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before the central probe agency again on Tuesday.
Senior Congress leaders like Harish Singh Rawat, Bhupesh Baghel, K C Venugopal and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda were detained by Delhi police once again,
The former Congress president appeared before the ED for the first time for questioning on Monday, accompanied by sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and armed CRPF personnel. He was given an 80-minute break in the afternoon and left the ED office around 11 pm.
The former Congress president, a Z+ category protectee of the CRPF after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family’s SPG cover in 2019, is expected to write down his statement, official sources said.
Gandhi, 51, is being questioned in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper. The investigation is related to alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper, published by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.
ALSO READ: Cong MPs detained for protesting in Rahul’s support released after 11 hrs
In a show of strength, hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi and state capitals took to the streets on Monday and called for a ‘satyagraha’ march against the ED summons.
Delhi Police said 459 people were detained, including 26 MPs and five MLAs, and all women and functionaries have been released.
Lashing out at the government for “not allowing”‘ a peaceful protest, Congress leaders said they would not kowtow to the Modi government and vowed to continue with their agitation.
Former Home Minister P Chidambaram even suffered a rib fracture when he was pushed around by Delhi police personnel.
The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing its leaders of putting pressure on the ED, supporting corruption and protecting alleged assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of the Gandhi family.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of central Delhi .
In April, the agency questioned senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation.
The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
