Congress puts up show of strength as Rahul appears before ED

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a money laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper, an occasion for the party to galvanise its workers with protests rolled out in many cities.

As hundreds of Congress workers across India took to the streets and several senior leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, party leaders Randeep Surjewala and K C Venugopal, were detained in a massive show of strength, Rahul Gandhi appeared before the ED. This the first time that he has appeared before a Central probe agency for questioning.

Gandhi, who entered the headquarters of the federal agency in central Delhi around 11.10 am, was put to questioning about 20 minutes later after he finished some brief legal proceedings and marked his attendance. He was allowed by the ED to leave for lunch around 2:10 pm and he returned for the questioning around 3:30 pm, officials said.

It is understood that Gandhi wrote down his statement under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the first round of questioning. The former Congress president first left for the ED office from the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road in the morning and was accompanied by party leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Union Finance minister P Chidambaram.