Sonia Gandhi Now Summoned On July 21 By Enforcement Directorate

Sonia Gandhi, who had requested for more time and got, has been issued fresh summons by the Enforcement Directorate or the ED to appear before it on July 21 in the alleged money laundering case connected to the National Herald newspaper.

The Congress chief, 75, had to skip earlier summons after she tested positive for Covid on June 2. She was released from hospital in the middle of June and had asked for more time to appear before the agency.

Mrs Gandhi's son, Rahul Gandhi, underwent a series of questionings, spanning 10-12 hours over five days, by the central probe agency in the same case.

Asked how he handled the marathon questioning sessions with the agency officers, Mr Gandhi, in a lighter vein, said "told them I do Vipassana".

"The Government of India...the Prime Minister thinks that by making me sit in the ED (office) for five days, I will change my behaviour. This is a confusion in the mind of the Prime Minister," a defiant Rahul Gandhi said duirng a visit to his parliamentary constituency, Wayanad, last week.

The agency, which probes financial crimes, is investigating the Gandhis' role in what is known as the National Herald case. It involves the Young Indian's takeover of AJL (Associated Journals Limited), the company that ran the National Herald newspaper, a Congress mouthpiece which has since transformed into an online-only outlet.

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