Congress party’s protest against ED for questioning Rahul Gandhi turns violent in Delhi, several leaders and workers detained

Congress workers burning tyres outside ED office. (Image: Twitter-@ShivAroor)

In a violent protest, Congress workers flocked to the streets and sparked mayhem throughout Delhi on Wednesday, as Rahul Gandhi joined the Enforcement Directorate’s interrogation for the third day in a row. With his Z+ security escort, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the ED headquarters in Delhi at about 11.35 AM. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, his sister and Congress national secretary, accompanied him on his way.

Despite the fact that a huge team of police and paramilitary personnel had been deployed around the federal agency’s office and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were in effect, thousands of Congress employees blocked the roads and protested against the central agency.

RAF crackdown on women protestors. (Source: IANS)

According to Sagar Hooda, Special CP (Law & Order) Delhi Police, around 150 individuals were detained today. He stated that Congress had not obtained permission to assemble today, despite the fact that its office bearers were aware of the location where Section 144 is in effect. “We had communicated to Congress in writing last night that no gathering should be conducted around ED office & on Akbar Road with Sec 144 imposed. When some workers didn’t agree to our appeal today also, we detained them. In 2.5 days, around 800 people detained,” he said.

Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Gaurav Gogoi, Deepender Singh Hooda, Ranjeet Ranjan, Jeby Mather, Imran Pratapgarhi, Youth Congress chairman B V Srinivas, and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) chief Neeraj Kundan were among those held. Venugopal said that this is nothing more than a “political vendetta” by the Modi government, which is attempting to discredit the Congress leadership through “false cases.” Rajasthan Congress MLA Sachin pilot has also been detained by the police.

The Congress party also claimed that the police entered the party headquarters. However, not ruling out a possibility of a minor scrimmage, police denied any such action. According to Sagar Hooda, Special CP (Law & Order) Delhi Police, several individuals hurled barriers at police near the AICC office, thus there may have been a minor scuffle, but police did not enter the AICC headquarters.

BJP slams violence by Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed the Congress party for unleashing violence in the national capital and other parts of the country. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, during a press conference, said that the Congress party is trying to hide corruption under the guise of violence.

Rahul Gandhi is being questioned by the ED for continuously 3 days in the National Herald money laundering case. The Gandhis are directly charged in the National Herald fraud, which is one of the most famous legal cases in Indian history. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, as well as senior aides Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vohra, and Sam Pithroda are accused of massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd. (YIL). The ED summoned both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. Sonia Gandhi has been summoned on June 23 due to ‘health issues.’

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia