Rahul appears before ED: Congress slams Modi's 'dictatorship' over Delhi Police action

Many Congress leaders were detained and KC Venugopal was manhandled by police while being detained, a video of which the party released

Congress Monday targeted the Narendra Modi government over the summons to Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case and Delhi Police action on leaders marching with him, describing it as a “dictatorship” and “undeclared emergency” in which the Opposition leaders are “pressured” to remain silent.

The party assembled senior leaders like Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and senior MPs and party functionaries like P Chidambaram, Digvijaya Singh, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala in the national capital.

Many of them were detained and Venugopal was manhandled by police while being detained, a video of which the Congress released. Rahul’s sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra went with the former to the ED office while others who were marching were detained.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi grilled by ED for nearly 3 hours in National Herald case; questioning to continue

"The fascists do not like the Opposition. Democracy works when there is Opposition,” Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot, who was detained at south Delhi’s Fatehpuri police station along with some other leaders, told a press conference near the ED office while Rahul was being questioned.

Gehlot said injustice is being done and the government is wasting its time on a "false case" when the country is facing price rise, inflation and communal polarisation.

Defending Rahul and his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rajasthan CM Gehlot said there were no irregularities in National Herald and the Congress actually helped it pay salaries and VRS to employees who were not getting money. A non-profit company was formed from where neither Rahul nor Sonia could take a single penny, he said.

“Everyone knows that. Modi knows that. The investigators know that,” he added.

Referring to the detention of leaders and workers who were marching with Rahul to the ED office, Chhattisgarh CM Baghel said, “This is a dictatorship. Several Congress workers have been detained because they wanted to carry out a peaceful march. This is unprecedented that Congress workers were not allowed to enter the Congress headquarters. If there is no FIR and how can ED summon Rahul.”

“From Kerala to Kashmir, Opposition leaders are being targeted. In democracy, leaders are not pressured. Democracy is being strangled in this country,” he said.

Also read: Congress and corruption 'made for each other': Naqvi

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in the morning, party Chief Spokesperson Surjewala said the Congress leaders had done nothing wrong. "Godse's descendants are scared of the truth. They will not be able to suppress the truth".

He alleged that Delhi has been put under "undeclared emergency" by a "scared" Narendra Modi government. "Thousands of barricades erected across, Thousands of Congressmen detained since last night. Why is the Modi government scared? They want to suppress the voice of truth. We won't be intimidated," he added.

Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram took a swipe at the BJP and tweeted, "surprised that the BJP have only placed barricades and police leading to the Congress office, Bulldozers are missing!...Guess all have been requisitioned to demolish the lives and houses of citizens belonging to the minority faith."