Since Monday, the Congress has used #IndiaWithRahul Gandhi and #Satyagraha to push out its messages in defence of its former president.
Several Congress leaders on Tuesday continued to protest on the second day of the ongoing Enforcement Directorate questioning of Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.
Senior leaders of the Opposition party such as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and K C Venugopal were detained outside the party office when they started marching to support Gandhi.
Congress leaders extended their support to Gandhi on social media as well, questioning the case. This prompted some BJP leaders to hit back.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram posted three tweets on Tuesday, asking a set of questions about the ED inquiry. “Which is the ‘scheduled offence’ under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) that has triggered an investigation by ED?” he asked. The former Union finance minister also asked which “police agency has registered an FIR in respect of the scheduled offence” and sought a “copy of the FIR”. He added, “Absent a scheduled offence and absent an FIR, the ED has no jurisdiction to start an investigation under PMLA.”
Since Monday, the Congress has used #IndiaWithRahulGandhi and Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) across its social media handles to push out its messages in defence of its former president.
Releasing the party’s official statement on Tuesday morning, Surjewala said in a tweet: “Understand Chronology. The Modi government has furiously attacked the voice of integrity hidden behind the ‘Election Management Department’ – ED.” Terming Gandhi’s interrogation an “attack on the fearless voice of the opposition which puts the questions of the people firmly in front of the government, which is raising the issues of the people fearlessly”.
CMs Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan) and Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) also posted on the microblogging website, questioning the ED’s case against the Gandhis and claiming that party workers were “fighting for the truth”.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also took to Twitter. “The truth can be neither hidden, nor intimidated by use of force & vendetta politics of BJP-RSS’s fascist regime,” he said. “The Congress has always fought for the truth and our fight will continue, no matter how much the fascists try to rattle us.”
In 2015, when a Patiala trial court granted bail to the Gandhis in the case, senior Congress leaders such as former PM Manmohan Singh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ghulam Nabi Azad, AK Antony, Kumari Selja had showcased their support in a similar manner.
Source:indianexpress.com