The Delhi Congress on Thursday staged a protest outside Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena's residence against the Enforcement Directorate's questioning of party president Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case.
Several Congress workers and leaders gathered at Raj Niwas and raised slogans against the central government, party officials said.
The protesters carried placards and banners with slogans such as “Soniaji Sangarsh Karo, Ham Tumhare Saath Hai”, “ED Se Na Dare Hai, Na Darenge, Janhit Me Awaz Udayenge” and “Sach Na Dara Hai, Na Darega” and “Satyamev Jayate”.
Leaders of Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, NSUI and Sewal Dal were also a part of the protest.Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said that the Modi Government has been using various agencies to harass and scare the Congress leaders and workers but Congress will not fear such tactics and bravely face any probe to expose the lies and falsehood of the Modi Government, which has hatched up a conspiracy to torment the top leadership of the Congress party through ED and CBI. Kumar said that despite the ED questioning Rahul Gandhi for nearly 54 hours, it could not unearth any wrong doing in the National Herald case. “Rahul Gandhi stands for truth and integrity, and no force can stop him from telling the truth and working for the welfare of the people.
Congress workers will go to any length to uphold the truth, and ED’s bid to put pressure on Sonia Gandhi will have no impact,” he claimed. He also said that the National Herald was run on a “no profit, no loss” basis and there was no illegality in its functioning.
“There was no question of any corruption, and the BJP bid to put corruption allegation on the Congress leaders will not stand scrutiny. ED was putting pressure on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to backtrack on their firm stands against Modi Government’s corruption and favouritism, and the National Herald case has been raked up to merely defame the Congress, though there is not even an iota of corruption in Congress’ dealings in the Herald case,” said Kumar.
Dr Sagar Preet Hooda, the Special Commissioner of Police, Law and order said that total 349 Congress workers including 56 MPs were detained from different places under section 65 DP Act to maintain public order in the area and all of them have been released after following necessary legal formalities.
The Special CP further said that on Thursday morning at about 11:00 AM, a large number of congress workers had started gathered at various locations including RML Hospital, Akbar Road, Maulana Azad Road, Man Singh Road, Tolstoy Marg, for the protest.
“The protestors were appropriately warned about the prohibitory order in force in the area and were requested to disperse. However, the protestors did not pay heed to the requests of police and continued their unlawful assembly. Therefore, they were stopped and detained for violation of lawful directions,” said the Special CP.
Sonia Gandhi, 75, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for two hours on Thursday. She arrived at the federal probe agency's headquarters, located at Vidyut Lane flanking A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi, a little after noon escorted by her Z+ category CRPF security cover.
The Delhi Police deployed a huge force and barricaded the entire over 1 km stretch between Gandhi's residence on Akbar Road-Janpath and the ED office even as traffic restrictions have been enforced around the area.
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