Congress to hold nationwide protest over ED's summons to Sonia Gandhi in National Herald case

New Delhi: Congress leaders have decided to protest across the country against the BJP-led Central government on July 21, the day Congress' interim president Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case. The decision to this effect was taken in a meeting on Wednesday.

With the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting from July 18, the Congress MPs will also take the opportunity to protest inside the Parliament premises.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi for questioning in connection with the National Herald case in which senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Bansal has already been questioned.

Besides them, ED questioned former Congress President and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi last month in June in the case for more than five days and during that time also Congress Party leaders and workers protested against ED and BJP-led Centre for indulging in 'vendetta politics.'

The party workers and leaders also protested the "brutal" action by Delhi police officials who manhandled many party activists and allegedly entered the Congress headquarters in Delhi forcefully.

According to sources, the party has also prepared pamphlets to be distributed among the public on the National Herald case.

Official sources said that Sonia Gandhi has been asked to appear before the investigators at its headquarters here around 11 am on July 21.

Fresh summons were issued to Sonia Gandhi as she could not appear before its investigators on June 8 in the case for the first time in connection with a money laundering case involving the National Herald as she was infected with COVID-19 and was hospitalised.

The ED wants to record both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi's statements under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The case to investigate alleged financial irregularities under the PMLA was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognizance of an Income Tax Department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed in 2013.