Congress warns of consequences if interim president Sonia Gandhi 'harmed'

Amid protests over Sonia Gandhi's appearance for her third round of questioning with ED, Congress leader Yashomati Thakur warned of consequences if the party supremo is "harmed"

Amid protests over Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi's appearance for her third round of questioning before the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, Congress leader Yashomati Thakur warned of consequences if the party supremo is "harmed" and said that central agencies were being used for politics.

"The Constitution is shattered every day, central agencies being used for politics; To a large extent, even judiciary is going that way. If anybody harms Sonia Gandhi, we won't stay quiet, there will be a law and order situation," Congress MLA from Mahrahrashtra, Yashomati Thakur said.

The ED questioned Sonia Gandhi for three hours on July 27, sources said.

Congress workers and leaders staged protests in various parts of the country alleging misuse of probe agencies by the government.

Sonia Gandhi was questioned by ED on Tuesday as well.

Officials said that on Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi's response was sought to around 30 questions regarding her involvement with the National Herald newspaper and Young Indian Pvt Ltd, the company under investigation.

During her questioning on Tuesday, the Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli was asked about the functioning and running of the newspaper, the role of its various office bearers, and her and Rahul Gandhi's involvement in the affairs of the National Herald and Young Indian.

Sonia Gandhi had been questioned by ED on July 21 also.

Last month, the ED also questioned Rahul Gandhi for five days in the National Herald case.

The case to investigate alleged financial irregularities under the PMLA was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognizance of the Income Tax department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

The petitioner had approached the court alleging that the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL), in which Sonia Gandhi and her son owned 38 per cent shares each.

The YIL promoters include Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to Congress.