Congress out on the street to protect "2000 crore of Gandhis": Smriti Irani
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New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani has pulled up the protesting Congress leaders who accompanied Rahul Gandhi to Enforcement Directorate office on Monday.
Smriti Irani said the Congress was out in the streets not to protect democracy but for safeguarding Rahul Gandhi's properities worth ₹ 2,000 crore.
ED had earlier served notice to both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in connection with a money laundering case.
Irani alleged that protests were meant to pressurize investigating agencies, according to NDTV.
Asserting that nobody is above law, she said Congress leaders are protesting because their corruption is exposed.
She added that never before has any political family tried to hold investigative agencies to ransom to protect "Ill-gotten wealth", according to NDTV.
Summarising the ED's case, she said in 1930 5,000 freedom fighters pooled their shares to found Associated Journals Limited (AJL) to publish a newspaper.
Having transferred the ownership of the company to one family, it has become a real estate business, she alleged.
After incurring debts of Rs 90 crore in 2008, the company entered in property business, she said. With an initial capital of Rs 5 lakh another company named Young India was established in 2010 with Rahul Gandhi as its director.
Rahul Gandhi, she alleged, gained 75 per cent of stake in the company while his mother Sonia Gandhi and Congress leaders including Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes came by the rest of it.
Afterwards, Congress party gave Rs 90 core as loan to AJL without requiring it to return, she alleged.
The company, she said, was licensed under section 25 of the Companies Act which allowed it to do charity work.
Also, the company admitted in 2016 that had not done any charity in the six years of its existence.
The company, launched to do social work, is serving the Gandhi family instead, she alleged.
She called out Congress leaders supporting Rahul to ask him what his connection with Dotex Merchandise Private Limited.