Bhubaneswar, April 16: The Odisha Congress on Tuesday staged a gherao in front of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Bhubaneswar, strongly opposing the charge sheet filed against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case.
The party alleged that the move was driven by “vendetta politics.”
Led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, a large number of Congress workers gathered at the ED office around 11:30 AM, raising slogans and demanding justice for the Gandhi family.
Bhakta Das alleged that whenever the BJP faces problems in running the government and with the elections ahead in Bihar, they try to harass the Congress on the strength of the ED and IT (Income Tax).
"This protest is happening all over the country today, in every state capital. This protest is being done in front of the ED and IT offices, and this is because the ED has repeatedly called our leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, whom they tortured and harassed. Whenever the BJP faces problems in running the government, now there are elections in Bihar, and before the elections, their allies can withdraw support from them at any time, so they scare Congress with the strength of ED-IT", Bhakta Charan Das told.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against top Congressmen Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in connection with the National Herald money laundering case. The chargesheet also names Congress leader Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others, including several firms.
The matter has been listed for arguments on cognisance in the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on April 25. The prosecution complaint has been filed under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for the offence of money laundering, as defined under Section 3, read with Section 70, and punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, 2002
