Digital Desk: Senior party leaders and workers protested in the Lutyens' Zone as Sonia Gandhi, the interim president of the Congress, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday for questioning in relation to the alleged money laundering case involving the National Herald, serving as a stark reminder of the circumstances surrounding Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the federal agency last month.
Sonia Gandhi arrived
at the ED office around noon and was questioned for just over two hours about
Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company that owned the newspaper, as
well as her role in the day-to-day operations of Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI), the
business that had acquired AJL. She was accompanied by Rahul and Priyanka. She
and Rahul own the majority (76%) of YI.
Sonia Gandhi, 75, who
just recovered from a Covid-19 infection, had her interrogation on Thursday cut
short, according to people familiar with the situation.
She will need to show
up once more on Monday.
The ED granted
Priyanka special permission to join her mother inside the ED office, despite
being outside the interrogation room for the duration of the two-hour session
due to her age and condition. She was there to help her mother with the
medication and nebulizer that she requires on a regular basis, according to
Priyanka Gandhi's assistant.
Due to her Covid-19
infection, Sonia Gandhi's questioning was originally scheduled for the first
week of June but was moved to June 23. She requested four weeks from the
central agency because she had been severely instructed to relax at home after
being hospitalized last month. The ED granted her request, and further
summonses were issued as a result.
The seasoned
Congressman is being questioned for the first time by a federal agency.
Rahul Gandhi earlier
denied using YI, which the Congress has repeatedly said was a "not for
profit" organisation, to create any personal assets or for his family
during his grilling, which lasted more than 10 hours daily for five days last
month.
The All-India Congress
Committee (AICC) provided AJL with a loan of Rs 90.21 crore; transactions
pertaining to the development of a property in Mumbai; and YI receiving a loan
of Rs 1 crore from a Kolkata-based company, according to a second officer cited
above. When her questioning resumes, this officer predicted that Sonia Gandhi will
be asked questions about these topics.
A federal anti-money laundering investigation agency officer with the rank of assistant director who also questioned Rahul for five days in June questioned Sonia Gandhi.
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