Delhi Cong protests outside L-G residence against Sonia Gandhi's questioning by ED

The Delhi Congress on Thursday staged a protest outside Lieutenant Governor V K Saxenas residence here against the Enforcement Directorates questioning of party president Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case.

The Delhi Congress on Thursday staged a protest outside Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's residence here against the Enforcement Directorate's questioning of party president Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald money laundering case. Several Congress workers and leaders gathered at Raj Niwas and raised slogans against the central government, party officials said. The protesters carried placards and banners with slogans such as “Soniaji Sangarsh Karo, Ham Tumhare Saath Hai”, “ED Se Na Dare Hai, Na Darenge, Janhit Me Awaz Udayenge” and “Sach Na Dara Hai, Na Darege” and “Satyamev Jayate”.

Leaders of Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, NSUI and Sewal Dal were also a part of the protest. Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said party leaders and workers will not be “cowed down” by the “arm-twisting tactics” of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

“The government has been using various agencies to harass and scare the Congress leaders and workers, but we will not fear such tactics and bravely face any probe to expose the lies of the Centre. They (Centre) have hatched a conspiracy to torment the top leadership of the Congress party through ED and CBI,” he alleged. Kumar claimed that National Herald was run on a “no profit, no loss” basis and there was “no illegality” in its functioning. “The National Herald case has been raked up to merely defame the Congress, though there is not even an iota of corruption in Congress' dealings in the Herald case,” he claimed. Sonia Gandhi, 75, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for two hours on Thursday. She arrived at the federal probe agency's headquarters, located at Vidyut Lane flanking A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi, a little after noon escorted by her Z+ category CRPF security cover.

The Delhi Police deployed a huge force and barricaded the entire over 1 km stretch between Gandhi's residence on Akbar Road-Janpath and the ED office even as traffic restrictions have been enforced around the area. Similar protests were held when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was quizzed by the ED in connection with the case last month. PTI ABU SRY