National Herald case: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi seeks more time to appear before ED

Sonia Gandhi, who has been summoned by the ED in the money laundering probe on June 23, has asked the central agency to postpone her appearance by a few weeks till she recovers completely from Covid-19 and a lung infection.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter, “Since she has been strictly advised rest at home following her hospitalisation on account of Covid and lung infection, Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi has written to ED today seeking the postponement of her appearance there by a few weeks till she has recovered completely.”

Sonia Gandhi, whose ED questioning has already been deferred once, was admitted to the Sir Gangaram Hospital in Delhi on June 12, after she was tested positive for Covid-19 on June 2. She has been discharged, and has been advised to rest at home, the Congress party said.

Gandhi, 75, had earlier been scheduled to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 8 but had sought more time from the probe agency in view of her Covid infection. The agency has issued a fresh summons to her for appearance before it on June 23.

Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi’s son and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi appeared for questioning in front of the ED regarding the National Herald case multiple times. Till now, Gandhi has appeared in front of the ED on 5 occasions, and has been questioned for over 50 hours.

Due to the rigourous questioning of Rahul Gandhi in the money laundering probe, the Congress party launched a nationwide protest against the central agency and the BJP government, alleging that the Centre has lodged a fake case to tarnish the reputation of the Gandhi family.

Hundreds of Congress workers, along with senior Congress leaders, were detained by state police forces as the protests turned violent in multiple cities. Noted party leaders like Randeep Surjewala, KC Venugopal, and Ashok Gehlot were also among those who were detained.

(With PTI inputs)