 "National Herald Case: ED quizzes Mallikarjun Kharge for around eight hours")
New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday was quizzed for around eight hours by the Enforcement Directorate office in the national capital in connection with the money laundering case involving the National Herald newspaper.
The Congress MP arrived at ED headquarters at around 12:30 pm on Thursday.
Slamming the Centre government over the ED summon, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “This is pure harassment. Modi government has created this drama before Congress’s protest rally tomorrow in all states against inflation, unemployment and GST on edibles… many security forces were deployed yesterday outside Sonia Gandhi’s residence and AICC’s headquarters.
Earlier in the day, Kharge informed the Rajya Sabha that the Enforcement Directorate had issued summons against him amid ongoing proceedings of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, accusing the Central government of attempting to intimidate the Congress party.
The ED has asked Kharge to appear before it in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald. Interim party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have already been questioned in the case over alleged evasion of tax.
Kharge stated while speaking during the Question Hour session of the Rajya Sabha.
“I received ED summon, they called me at 12.30 pm. I want to abide by the law, but is it right for them to summon when Parliament is in session? Is it right for the Police to gherao residences of Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi? They are doing it purposely to afraid of us (Congress). We won’t be scared, we’ll fight,” Kharge said.
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View AllResponding to Kharge’s complaint, the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal said the Centre has nothing to do with it.
“The government does not interfere in the work of the law enforcement authorities. Perhaps during their tenure, when their government was there, they might be interfering,” Goyal said
The union minister said that said law enforcement agencies were doing their job and acting against those who have done anything wrong.
ED on Wednesday partially sealed the offices of Young India Limited – the firm that owns Associated Journals, which runs the outlet – at Herald House in Delhi.
The probe agency took action a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out raids at 12 locations in the national capital and at other places in connection with the National Herald case in which top Congress leaders are accused of violating norms.
Mallikarjun Kharge is the authorised representative for the company, and the sealing had to be done as he wasn’t there.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi termed the sealing of the Young Indian office at the Herald House building as an “intimidation attempt” by the ruling BJP and asserted that he is “not scared” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suppressive government.
Speaking to the reporters here, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, “You are talking about National Herald, it’s an intimidation attempt. They think they will be able to silence us with a little pressure…We won’t be intimidated. We are not scared of Narendra Modi. They can do whatever they want…”
ED in April this year examined senior Congress leader Kharge here in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case and recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The National Herald case pertains to the alleged financial irregularities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
The petitioner had approached the court alleging that the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL), in which Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi owned 38 per cent shares each.
Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to Congress.
The raids were conducted days after the investigative agency questioned Congress interim-president Sonia Gandhi for nearly three hours on 27 July. It was the third round of questioning of the senior leader in the case.
Following the summoning of Sonia Gandhi by the ED, Congress workers and leaders staged protests in various parts of the country alleging misuse of probe agencies by the government. Sonia Gandhi was questioned by ED on July 26 also. She had reached the ED office accompanied by her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Officials said on that day, the party president’s response was sought to around 30 questions regarding her involvement with the National Herald newspaper and Young Indian Pvt Ltd.During her questioning, the Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli was asked about the functioning and running of the newspaper, the role of its various office bearers. Prior to that, she was also questioned by ED on 21 July.
Meanwhile, in June, the ED questioned Rahul Gandhi for five days. Rahul Gandhi was questioned by the ED for over 27 hours for three straight days from June 13 to June 15 and was again summoned on 20 June. On 20 June, he was questioned for around 14 hours.
The Congress leader was deposed before the ED investigators in the case for the first time on June 13.
He initially sought an exemption from appearance on June 16, following which he was called on June 17. But the senior Congress leader wrote to the ED to postpone his questioning citing the illness of his mother Sonia Gandhi.
The ED then allowed him to join the probe on 20 June at his request.
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