Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for the second round of questioning in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, prompting her party to stage protests against the alleged misuse of central agencies.
Elaborate security arrangements were in place as Sonia Gandhi reached the federal agency's office in central Delhi around 11 am accompanied by Z+ armed security and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. While Priyanka Gandhi stayed back at the ED office, Rahul Gandhi left soon after. He led Congress MPs at a protest in Vijay Chowk, close to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and was detained by police.
"India is a police state now, that's the truth. PM Modi is a king, and this is a police state. What will happen if MPs cannot meet the President?" Rahul Gandhi told the media while being detained.
"All (Congress) MPs came here. They talked about inflation, and unemployment. They (police) are not allowing us to sit here. Discussions are not allowed inside (the Parliament) and here they are arresting us," he further said.
The Delhi Police also detained Deepender Hooda, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, and Manickam Tagore, among others, at Vijay Chowk.
The questioning and recording of the 75-year-old Congress president's statement is understood to have begun at 11:15 am after initial formalities, including the verification of summons and signing of the attendance sheet, were completed.
The Congress chief was earlier questioned by the financial probe agency on July 21 for nearly three hours in connection with the alleged money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper.
The probe relates to alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper. Meanwhile, Congress leaders and workers staged protests across the nation against the ED for questioning Sonia Gandhi in the alleged money laundering case.