ED summons Sonia: Congress stages protest 2nd day
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New Delhi: Congress in Delhi conducted a protest on Friday, for the second successive day, against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioning the party national chief Sonia Gandhi, summoning her again to the office regarding the National Herald money laundering case.
Congress President in the capital region, Anil Kumar, said that many protesting leaders and workers from the party were stopped and detained by the Delhi Police.
The party members gathered next to Aggarwal Dharamshala at Chhatarpur to protest, holding banners and raising slogans against the BJP-led Union government.
President Kumar accused the Centre of misusing the Central probe agencies to harass Congress leaders.
He alleged, "The government has been using various agencies to harass and scare Congress leaders and workers, but we will not fear such tactics and bravely face any probe to expose the lies of the Centre. They (Centre) have hatched a conspiracy to torment the top leadership of the Congress party through the ED and CBI."
"The Central government's autocratic rule has been trying to crush the voices of dissent, but Congress leaders will not be cowed down by the high-handed actions of the ED. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been harassed, and this is a violation of all the Constitutional and democratic norms," he stated.
Further, he claimed that Congress leaders work to protect the interest of the commoners and are fighting for the truth. "The current government has changed the meaning of democracy to suit its vested interest. Free speech has been banned, and those who speak against the Prime Minister and his government are harassed and arrested," he lashed out.
On Thursday, more than 70 Congress MPs were detained after they conducted a protest. The party had also alleged that the media was barred from entering the Indian National Congress headquarters during their protest.
On Tuesday, the 75-year-old Congress Premiere Sonia Gandhi was questioned by ED for two hours. She was summoned again by the agency for further interrogation on July 26.
Last month, Congress staged similar protests when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned by the central agency.