Have right to protest: P Chidambaram on Sonia Gandhi's questioning by ED

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram asserted that it was not Sonia Gandhi, but the Congress that was protesting as it has the right to do so when its leader is being "harassed"

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday asserted that it was not Sonia Gandhi, but the Congress that was protesting as it has the right to do so when its leader is being "harassed".

His remarks came on a day Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was questioned for the second time by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper, leading to a massive protest by the party against the alleged misuse of central agencies.

"The BJP asks why is the Congress protesting on the streets. Mrs Sonia Gandhi is appearing before the ED. She is not protesting. It is the Congress party that is protesting. We have a right to protest when our leader is being harassed," Chidambaram said on Twitter.

"When (Narendra) Modi was questioned, the BJP put up posters all over Gujarat and protested. We have the right to also demand how did the ED cases against a number of political leaders (who subsequently joined the BJP) suddenly vanish in thin air?" the former Union home minister said.

As ED officials quizzed Gandhi, 75, for six hours and asked her to appear before the agency for the third round of questioning on Wednesday, Congress workers staged 'satyagraha' in several parts of the country.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several party MPs were detained by police at Vijay Chowk in the national capital. The Congress leaders were later released after being in detention for several hours.