New Delhi [India], August 2 (ANI): Hitting out at the Central government for intimidating the Opposition through ED, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asserted that the BJP’s strategy is well known as they are not going after Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi who pocketed thousands of crores and fled the country. “We know government’s strategy, to anyhow frame and intimidate Opposition. DHFL caused a loss of Rs 34,615 cr; from Mehul Choksi to Nirav Modi, they pocketed thousands of crores. Is the govt worried about it? Have they tried to get it back?’ Chowdhury told ANI about ED raids over the National Herald case.
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram also hit out at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for conducting raids at the National Herald house and other offices of the institution. The Congress leader said the ED was weaponized earlier, now after the Supreme Court judgment, it has become a “weapon of mass destruction”.
Earlier in the day, Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress leaders for questioning the investigation against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case and said that the “party is still living in slavery for just one family- Gandhi family.” “The biggest example of how to grab property worth thousands of crores is the National Herald case and this is done by none other than Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate,” said Thakur.
“They are out on bail but why they are running away from the investigation? These crocodile tears of Congress leaders are just to hide the corruption done by their party and to stop the investigation. Is Congress out of bound of probe agencies? Does the law of the country not apply to the Congress leaders? Is the Gandhi family above the law of the country? They are out on bail, shouldn’t they tell the investigating agency why the scam happened? Why are they afraid if they are innocent?” he said.
Earlier in the day, 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. 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 cognizance 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 raids were conducted days after the investigative agency questioned Congress interim-president Sonia Gandhi for nearly three hours on July 27. 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.
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 June 20. On June 20, he was questioned for around 14 hours. The Congress leader 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 June 20 at his request. (ANI)
