Rahul Gandhi Questioned for Over 9 Hours, To Return to ED Office Today

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over nine hours on Monday, 13 June, and has been asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case on Tuesday, as per media reports.

Thronged by supporters, party workers, and senior Congress leaders, Gandhi on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after marching to the agency's office.

He left the central agency's office nearly 2.5 hours later, at around 2:35 pm, to visit Sonia Gandhi at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a day after the Congress president was admitted in light of COVID-related complications.

He re-appeared for a second round of questioning around 3:45 pm. Congress leader and his sister Priyanka Gandhi accompanied Rahul Gandhi.

Senior party leaders from across the country, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Ashok Gehlot, Karti Chidambaram, Digvijaya Singh, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, gathered at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters earlier on Monday to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi.

Priyanka Gandhi Visits Police Station as Several Leaders Detained

Congress workers staged protests in several parts of the country against the Centre on Monday, including Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Delhi Police earlier on Monday detained several senior party leaders and workers amid demonstrations in support of Rahul Gandhi.

Among those detained include Ashok Gehlot, Deepender Singh Hooda, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, KC Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, Rajni Patil, and Akhikesh Prasad Singh, among others. Visuals from Delhi showed Congress workers being taken away in buses.

Later on Monday evening, Gehlot, Baghel, and other party leaders, including Raghu Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Rajeev Shukla, Ajay Maken, TS Singh Deo, met at the party office in Delhi.

However, KC Venugopal and other Congress MPs continue to remain detained at the Tughlaq Road police station. They have been detained for over 8 hours now.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi had met party leaders at the Tughlaq Road police station after they were detained.

Additional security forces were deployed outside the ED office in Delhi ahead of Gandhi's appearance.

Security has also been ramped up outside the Congress headquarters in Delhi as well as Gandhi's residence.

Meanwhile, Congress workers were detained in Ahmedabad as they protested the ED probe against Rahul Gandhi. More than 250 Congress party workers were also detained during protests outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CSMT) station in Mumbai.

Several Congress workers also conducted protests in Tripura's Agartala and Karnataka's Bengaluru.

'Ruling Govt Can't Suppress the Voice of Congress'

Addressing the media ahead of the scheduled visit, Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala slammed the Centre for trying to silence the party's voice.

"Congress is the voice of the nation for the past 136 years. We are the descendants of Gandhi who used the power of the people that forced the dictatorial British government to leave the country," Surjewala said.

"Even the British could not suppress the voice of Congress during the freedom struggle, then how can this ruling government," Surjewala asked.

"We're the protectors of the Constitution, we will not bow down or be scared. By deploying a large police force, it has been proven that Modi government is shaken by Congress," he added.

He further said that the 'Satya ka Sangram' would continue under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Speaking to the media, Congress leader TS Singh Deo on Monday said that Congress leaders would stay united.

"Police are being used for a different purpose, but we will continue to carry forward our work," Singh Deo told news agency ANI.

'Blatant Attempt To Pressurise Investigating Agency': Smriti Irani

Addressing the media, Union Minister Smriti Irani slammed the Gandhis of trying to pressurise the ED to "safeguard corrupt gains."

"At the clarion call of the Gandhi family, leaders and workers of the Congress party have descended in Delhi to pressurise investigating agencies. A gentleman who is out on bail seeks to pressurise an investigating agency which seeks to unravel the corruption of the Gandhi family. Never before has such a blatant attempt been made by one political family to hold an investigating agency to ransom. Never before has a political family been so desirous of protecting their ill-gotten gains as the Gandhi family," she said.

Speaking to news agency ANI, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra termed the protests by the Congress 'Jashn-e-Bhrashtachar.'

"Congress has yet again tried launching Rahul Gandhi module from the pad of corruption, we assure that he will meet the same fate, he will fail yet again," Patra told ANI.

March Takes Place Despite No Permission From Police

The Delhi Police on Sunday had told the Congress party that its proposed rally towards the ED office could not be permitted, citing reasons including law and order issues.

Speaking to news agency ANI on the detentions on Monday, Sagar Preet Hooda, Special CP (Law & Order), said that the police had given permission for a limited number of people to protest at the AICC office and have detained people only from places where there was no permission for the protests.

The Congress had earlier sought permission for over 1,000 people to protest at the AICC office, but after being asked to reduce the number, permission for about 200 people was granted, he said.

"Section 144 was already imposed. As per the Supreme Court guidelines and as per our own SoP, we could not grant permission. We permitted 100 people to go to the AICC office and the rest of the demonstration was permitted to be held at Jantar Mantar," CP Hooda said.

(With inputs from ANI, IANS, and PTI.)