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'Despite Sonia Gandhi's offering…': P Chidambaram on why ED ended questioning
P Chidambaram's reaction came after reports indicated that the ED ended the session for the day on Sonia Gandhi's request as she is recovering from Covid-19.
Former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had no more questions after 3 pm and it was the central agency, and not the party present Sonia Gandhi, which concluded the questioning in the National Herald money laundering case on Thursday.
“The ED had no more questions after 3 pm. Despite Mrs Sonia Gandhi offering to continue to be available for questioning, the ED concluded the questioning today. We were allowed to leave the Kingsway Camp police lines at 4 pm,” Chidambaram tweeted, adding that he was on his way home.
Chidambaram's reaction came after reports indicated that the ED ended the session for the day on Gandhi's request as she is recovering from Covid-19.
Earlier, Chidambaram said the ED is not higher than the Supreme Court. "What is that the ED wants to 'investigate' that will not be examined by the SC," he asked.
The day was a show of strength for the party with street protests and leaders courting arrests across the country. Gandhi is likely to be called for another round of questioning in the next couple of days, news agency PTI reported.
Gandhi was questioned by the same assistant director-level investigation officer who interrogated her son Rahul Gandhi in the case - related to alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns National Herald. A woman officer was part of the questioning team, PTI added.
The summons to the Congress president took political centrestage in Parliament, where opposition leaders raised the issue, and on the streets with party workers staging massive protests.
Gandhi reached the federal probe agency's headquarters in Lutyens Delhi’s APJ Abdul Kalam Road a little after noon escorted by her Z category CRPF security cover.
The Congress president, seen wearing a mask, was accompanied by her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Priyanka was allowed to stay in the Pravartan Bhawan headquarters of the agency, away from the questioning room, so she could be with her mother in case of a health issue and give her medicines. However, Rahul Gandhi left soon after.
Ahead of Gandhi's appearance, Delhi Police deployed a huge force, including CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricaded the entire over one kilometre stretch between her residence and the ED office.
The Congress party slammed the agency's action against its top leadership and termed it "political vendetta".
"All Congress MPs and CWC members have courted mass arrest outside our party headquarters in a show of collective solidarity with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a target of 'Vishguru's' political vendetta,” said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.
Other Opposition leaders voiced their protest too. Leaders of 13 political parties, including the DMK, Shiv Sena, RJD and the Left, met at Parliament House and issued a statement accusing the government of unleashing a “relentless campaign of vendetta against its political opponents and critics through the mischievous misuse of investigative agencies”.
“Prominent leaders of a number of political parties have been deliberately targeted and subjected to harassment in an unprecedented manner," the leaders said.
The opposition’s presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha said he strongly condemned the ED’s attitude to humiliate political leaders.
“The officers of ED shd have gone to her residence even if they had questions to ask of Sonia Gandhi,” he said on Twitter.
The Congress chief had been summoned twice earlier but sought an exemption on grounds of Covid. Her statement was recorded by the agency under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The probe relates to alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.
Rahul was questioned by the agency in the case for over 50 hours in sessions spread across five days last month.
The move to question the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late last year registered a fresh case under criminal provisions of the PMLA. This was after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe against Young Indian on the basis of a private criminal complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders of Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding.
(With inputs from PTI)
