Picture : Twitter/ ANI
In a major move and jolt to the Congress, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has temporarily sealed the premises of the Young Indian in the Congress-owned National Herald office in Delhi as part of the ongoing money laundering case and instructed that the “premises not be opened without prior permission from the agency”.
The rest of the National Herald office in the Herald House building is open for use, the sources said. The probe agency said only the Young Indian (YI) office has been temporarily sealed as there was no one from their side to get the searches conducted. “The principal officer Mallikarjun Kharge came but left the premises without getting the searches conducted. Summons has been sent to the principal officer (Mallikarjun Kharge) to get the search concluded. As and when the authorized person presents himself for concluding the search, the seal will be lifted,” the ED said in a report by CNN-IBN.
Delhi Police barricaded the road to AICC headquarters to avoid any protest-like situation by the party workers and deployed additional force outside 10 Janpath, the residence of Sonia Gandhi. The barricades were later removed reported CNN-IBN.
Reacting to the ED action at media briefing at Congress Headquarters , Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has said that the “Indian National Congress is under siege” and that the Delhi Police has surrounded the party headquarters and homes of interim party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
.@INCIndia is under siege. Delhi police has surrounded our HQs, and homes of INC President & ex-President.This is the worst form of vendetta politics. We will not submit! We will not be silenced! We will continue to raise our voice against injustices and failures of Modi Sarkar!
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 3, 2022
Attacking the Modi government for vendetta politics, he alleged in a tweet, “this is the worst form of vendetta politics. We will not submit! We will not be silenced! We will continue to raise our voice against injustices and failures of Modi Sarkar!”
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, ” We are seeing an open-ended investigation for events 10 years ago with a siege mentality in the heart of the capital of the world’s largest democracy. Can we believe it?”
“India, the proud largest democracy of the world has the siege mentality. I was astonished to see that people cannot come and go. There are platoons everywhere, it is present on the other side of the road also. The only sole object of this exercise is humiliation, insult and intimidation at one level,” he added.
“These are actions of a frustrated political regime. These are the actions of a regime that is losing its equilibrium and balance and is frustrated at the fact that its opponent – that is us – does not break or bend,” he further stated.
“You can try and suppress as much as you like, you will receive resilience and a reaction which is completely democratic for the world to see, we will continue to expose you,” he said.
“I only want to see that all laws have been thrown to the winds. All sense of decency, democratic values, all sense of balance and this reprehensible. We cannot find stronger words to condemn it,” he further said.
While General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee Ajay Maken said, “inflation, unemployment, and GST on food products. On these three issues, Congress want to protest in front of Rashtrapati Bhawan, PM’s residence.”
“We want to say that no matter how much you suppress us, Congress will continue to protest against the three issues. We were stopped by the police for protesting on the three issues. Congress will not give in to this pressure. We will protest on the three issues,” he stated.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted,
कांग्रेस मुख्यालय एवं 10 जनपथ को पुलिस छावनी बनाने की आज की कार्रवाई अघोषित आपातकाल है। नेशनल हेराल्ड (यंग इंडिया) के दफ्तर को जबरन सील कर दिया गया। एनडीए की इस तानाशाही सरकार के खिलाफ यदि कांग्रेसजनों के साथ आम जनता खड़ी नहीं हुई तो इसका खामियाजा पूरे देश को भुगतना पड़ेगा। https://t.co/DnPNLDQQyA
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 3, 2022
