Rahul Gandhi appears before ED for fourth time amid protests
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the fourth time on Monday regarding the National Herald case amid Congress protest and meeting with President Kovind. Gandhi was interrogated three times last week, with the fourth scheduled for Friday. However, he requested that it be postponed until Monday since his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi is hospitalized with COVID-19-related issues.
Why does this story matter?
The Congress party is currently protesting at Jantar Mantar against the government's new military recruitment scheme, Agnipath, and against what Congress calls the "Modi government's vendetta politics." The party sees the ED's summons to its senior leaders as a political vendetta and wants to counter it politically and legally. The National Herald case came to light in 2013 by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
Congress leaders meet President Kovind
Congress leaders met with President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday to discuss alleged police mistreatment of MPs during protests while demanding the withdrawal of the newly unveiled Agnipath scheme. Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, KC Venugopal, P Chidambaram, and Jairam Ramesh were the members of the Congress delegation that met with the President. Only a five-member delegation was granted permission by the President's house.
5,310 of 5,422 cases of ED during Modi government: Maken
"The police came inside AICC breaking the gate. Rahul Gandhi has been questioned for more than 30 hours and undue pressure is being put on us. Pressure is being created through ED and police," Ajay Maken, Congress general secretary, stated. 5,422 cases are going on in ED, out of which 5310 cases are filed in the 8 years of the Modi government," he highlighted.
Congress leaders were reportedly beaten by Delhi police during protests
Congress MP S Jothimani was allegedly severely beaten by Delhi Police during the ongoing protest against the misuse of power by the government through ED. A memorandum on the issue was reportedly submitted by the delegation of Congress leaders who met with President Kovind today.
No one in this country is Queen Victoria: Sambit Patra
The BJP hit out at the Congress on Monday, saying that "no one in this country is Queen Victoria or Prince that they won't be probed," as the Congress staged a "Satyagraha" to protest its leader Rahul Gandhi's ED questioning. "Rahul Gandhi should know that ED is Enforcement Directorate, not 'Entitlement Demand,'" BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra said, launching a scathing attack on Mr. Gandhi.
What do we know about the money laundering case?
The case in which the Gandhis have been summoned relates to accusations of fraud and theft of National Herald funds in the purchase of the newspaper. They are accused of obtaining the National Herald assets by purchasing the former publisher of the newspaper, Associated Journals Limited (AJL), through another company Young India (YI) Limited, in which they had an 86% share.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed complaint in 2013
The high-profile case came to light in 2013 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint before a trial court. He accused top Congress leaders of cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of Associated Journals Limited by Young Indian. The National Herald was a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru along with other freedom fighters in 1938.
Kharge, Pawan Bansal also interrogated by ED
The Income Tax Department also began investigating the case earlier and issued a demand notice to YI for Rs. 249.15 crore for the fiscal year 2011-12 In April, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress treasurer Pawan Bansal were also interrogated by the ED under the PMLA. While Kharge is the CEO of YI, Bansal is the managing director of AJL.
