National Herald case: ED grills Rahul Gandhi for the second consecutive day

Rahul Gandhi, 51, was questioned by ED for over 10 hours on Monday in a National Herald money-laundering case

A day after being questioned for over 10 hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before the central probe agency again on Tuesday.

Senior Congress leaders like Harish Singh Rawat, Bhupesh Baghel, K C Venugopal and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda were detained by Delhi police once again,

The former Congress president appeared before the ED for the first time for questioning on Monday, accompanied by sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and armed CRPF personnel. He was given an 80-minute break in the afternoon and left the ED office around 11 pm.

The former Congress president, a Z+ category protectee of the CRPF after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family's SPG cover in 2019, is expected to write down his statement, official sources said.

Gandhi, 51, is being questioned in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper. The investigation is related to alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper, published by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.

In a show of strength, hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi and state capitals took to the streets on Monday and called for a 'satyagraha' march against the ED summons.

Delhi Police said 459 people were detained, including 26 MPs and five MLAs, and all women and functionaries have been released.

Lashing out at the government for "not allowing"' a peaceful protest, Congress leaders said they would not kowtow to the Modi government and vowed to continue with their agitation.

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram even suffered a rib fracture when he was pushed around by Delhi police personnel.

The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing its leaders of putting pressure on the ED, supporting corruption and protecting alleged assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of the Gandhi family.

Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of central Delhi .

In April, the agency questioned senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation.

The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said.