ED asks Sonia to depose in July last week

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s request to defer her questioning has been accepted by the Enforcement Directorate. She had asked the ED to postpone her appearance there by a few weeks till she fully recovers. The 75-year-old leader was due to appear at the ED office in New Delhi for questioning in a money-laundering case on June 8, which was deferred to June 23 as she was down with Covid-19. Now, as she is still suffering from post-Covid complications, the ED has postponed her questioning for about four weeks, and she has been asked to sometime in the last week of July.

Mrs Gandhi had been admitted to Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for a procedure related to her post-Covid symptoms. She was discharged on Monday evening, but has been advised complete rest. Her son, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has faced ED questioning for five days and over 55 hours in the same case. Earlier, Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal were also questioned on the matter. The case relates to the takeover of AJL, the company that runs the National Herald newspaper, by a new company Young Indian, which has Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as its directors. The ED is examining the way in which the two were made its directors, and if there are any irregularities.