NEW DELHI, Aug 4:
The ED today resumed its searches at the office of Young Indian (YI) here in the National Herald case after Mallikarjun Kharge presented himself before the probe agency with the Congress slamming the summons to the senior party leader right in the middle of the Parliament session.
The appearance of 80-year-old Kharge before the officials of Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the Herald House building and its action in the money laundering case linked to the Congress-owned newspaper also turned into a slugfest between the Congress and the BJP after the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told the House during Question Hour he was summoned to appear at 12.30 PM.
The Congress also raised the issue of ED action in both the Houses of Parliament and caused disruptions.
While Kharge, who was quizzed for over seven hours, alleged this was an attempt to “frighten and intimidate” the Congress and wondered if democracy would remain alive, his party said the ED summons during the working hours of Parliament was a “black chapter of democracy” and an “insult” to the legislature.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who is the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, hit back and rejected Kharge’s charge as “baseless”. He maintained that the Government does not interfere in the functioning of law enforcement agencies, and asked the Congress leaders to face the law instead of running away.
Launching a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he is “not afraid of Narendra Modi” and will not be “intimidated” by the ED action in the National Herald case.
Rahul’s attack drew a sharp response from the BJP which accused the Congress of trying to spread “anarchy” and “abusing and intimidating” the ED.
“Sonia Gandhi and Rahul should know that they are not above law. The country is governed by the Constitution,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.(PTI)
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