ED Issues Fresh Summons to Sonia Gandhi, Asks Her To Appear Before It on 23 June

Gandhi tested positive for COVID-19 on 2 June and was expected to turn up for questioning on 8 June.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.

(Photo: PTI)

A fresh summons has been issued to Congress president Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate, asking her to appear before it on 23 June in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.

Gandhi tested positive for COVID-19 on 2 June and was expected to turn up for questioning at the agency offices on Wednesday, 8 June.

On Thursday, she asked for three more weeks since she was still COVID positive and in isolation.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was summoned on 2 June as well, but he asked for fresh dates as he was not in the country at the time.

The Wayanad MP is now expected to appear before the ED on Monday, 13 June, accompanied by Congress leaders.

The summons to the Gandhis came after the probe agency recently questioned Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal in connection with the case.

The National Herald Case

The probe by the ED was based on a trial court taking cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young India Pvt Ltd after a criminal complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Swamy had alleged that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had conspired to misappropriate funds, as Young India had paid only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover around Rs 90 crore, which was owed to the Congress by Associate Journals Ltd.

The ED had said that it wanted to record the statements of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A few days ago, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters, "We are a law-abiding party. We follow rules. So, if they have been summoned, of course, they we will go. We have nothing to hide".

"We are not like them. We remember when Amit Shah was running around in 2002 to 2013," he said.

"They will learn some lessons from us on what kind of people who adhere to the path of truth are. They should learn from us," Khera said.

The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the ED's investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions, and role of the promoters of Young India and AJL, officials had said.