'Decency demanded that ED should have gone to Sonia Gandhi's residence to question her'

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 21

On the day when Congress president Sonia Gandhi has to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, the opposition party launched an all-out attack on the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming them for being intolerant and using agencies as political tools to topple elected governments and harass political opponents.

Briefing media on Thursday morning at AICC headquarters, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said he condemned the ED’s act of summoning Sonia Gandhi, which is neither good under the law nor in terms of decency, as no case could be made out under the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) in the National Herald matter.

He, however, said, “If at all she needed to be questioned for clarification, the ED officials should have gone to her residence and recorded her statement, as that would have been a decent way of doing it. But the intention is to harass and not to investigate.”

Even joint opposition Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha in a tweet said, “I strongly condemn the attitude of ED to humiliate political leaders. The officers of the ED should have gone to her residence even if they had questions to ask of Sonia Gandhi.”

Gehlot further claimed that Delhi Police had turned the party headquarters as “chhavni” and were not allowing peaceful Congressmen to enter “our office”. He said, “Our workers are peacefully singing bhajans to protest against the wrong policies of the government. It is a fact that dharna and pradarshan (protests) are ornaments of democracy. But, Modi ji does not understand it, as he wants to establish dictatorship in the country,” he said.

Because of this intent only, the Prime Minister wants to have “one nation and one election”, as he “would not have any problem in distributing post-retirement revaris (obligations) to officers who help him in his political designs”, Gehlot said.

Earlier, in Parliament, several opposition parties came in solidarity with Sonia Gandhi, as they attended a meeting in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and issued a joint statement. The parties, whose representatives were present in the meeting, were the DMK, CPI(M), CPI, IUML, National Conference, TRS, MDMK, NCP, VCK, Shiv Sena and RJD.

In a joint statement, the opposition parties said, “The Modi Sarkar has unleashed a relentless campaign of vendetta against political opponents and critics through the mischievous misuse of investigative agencies. Prominent leaders of a number of political parties have been deliberately targeted and subjected to harassment in an unprecedented manner.”

“We condemn this and resolve to continue and intensify our collective fight against the anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-Constitution policies of the Modi sarkar that is destroying the social fabric of our society,” the leaders said in the statement.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#ashok gehlot #narendra modi #sonia gandhi