Summons to Mallikarjun Kharge sparked off a war of words between Congress and BJP leaders both inside and outside Parliament.
New Delhi: The searches by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the offices of the Young Indian Limited was resumed on Thursday, a day after the premises were sealed.
The central agency could not conduct searches at the offices on Wednesday as nobody from the Young Indian was present at the spot. On Thursday, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, the principal officer of Young Indian Limited, was present for over seven hours when the searches were conducted.
The Leader of Opposition Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour that he had to appear before the ED at Herald House, which houses the Young Indian Limited, at 12.30 pm.
The ED summons to Kharge in the middle of the Parliament session sparked off a war of words between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress termed the summons an “insult” to the legislature and a “black chapter in the history of democracy”.
Replying to Congress, Leader of House in Rajya Sabha and Union minister Piyush Goyal said the allegations are “baseless” and said the government does not interfere in the functioning of the law enforcement agencies. He also asked the Congress to face the law and not run away from it.
In response, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he and his party are not afraid of Narendra Modi and will not be intimidated by the ED. Gandhi was recently questioned by the ED in the National Herald case for over 50 hours.
The saffron party’s spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit back and said “Sonia Gandhi and Rahul should know that they are not above law. The country is governed by the Constitution.”
