Rahul’s ED questioning: U.P. Congress leaders detained during protest march to Raj Bhawan

Three senior U.P. Congress leaders-- Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari, Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ and chairman UPCC media department Naseemuddin Siddiqui— were placed under house arrest ahead of the protest march

Members of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) tried to ‘gherao’ the Raj Bhawan here on Thursday to protest the quizzing of party leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate as well as police action of forcibly entering the Congress headquarters and beating up of party workers in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Congress workers during their protest over the questioning of party leader Rahul Gandhi by ED in the National Herald case, in Lucknow on Thursday. (Deepak Gupta/ HT Photo)

The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) has been quizzing Rahul Gandhi in an alleged money-laundering case pertaining to the National Herald-AJL deal for the past three days.

On Thursday, the police stopped some Congress workers at the UPCC headquarters where they had assembled to move towards Raj Bhawan.

The police placed three senior leaders-- Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari, Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ and chairman UPCC media department Naseemuddin Siddiqui-- under arrest at their residences.

About seven party leaders, however, managed to reach Raj Bhawan and began raising anti-government slogans. The police took them way in a bus and released them after a few hours. Some of those detained at UPCC headquarters were taken to eco-gardens and released in the afternoon.

Pramod Tiwari condemned the Delhi police action and said the BJP government was indulging in a political vendetta.

“There is no truth in accusations that Rahul Gandhi was not cooperating with the ED. The BJP government should set up a parliamentary committee or the Supreme Court should conduct an independent probe into issue of Rahul Gandhi’s ED quizzing and other important issues,” he said.

Tiwari further said an independent probe should be conducted into accusations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi allegedly asked Sri Lanka government to award contract for a power plant to Gautam Adani led Adani group.