ED to question Sonia Gandhi today; Here's all you need to know

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will be appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the National Herald case today. In view of Sonia Gandhi's questioning by the ED, some roads near the Congress office have already been barricaded by police. The Delhi Police have said that they are expecting traffic disruptions as Congress party officials and workers have announced protests across the city.

In a series of tweets, the Delhi Police today asked the commuters to avoid Motilal Nehru Marg, Akbar Road, Janpath and Man Singh Road between 9:00 am to 2 pm on 21 July. "Due to special arrangements, traffic movement will not be possible on these roads," the advisory said. In another tweet, the police said due to special traffic arrangements, inwards movement of buses will be restricted in New Delhi beyond Gol Dak Khana Junction, Patel Chowk, Windsor Place, Teen Murti Chowk, Prithviraj Road.

The Congress party had launched a similar protest when Rahul Gandhi was questioned in the same case. The party leaders including chief ministers and MPs staged protests in Delhi against ED's move against Rahul Gandhi. During the protests, they also clashed with police who had put up barricades for restricting their movements.

Sonia Gandhi was earlier supposed to appear before the ED on June 23, but had earlier written to the ED seeking a postponement to fully recover from COVID-related issues. The agency had issued the first summons to her for June 8. However, she tested positive for COVID-19 on June 2. She had to be hospitalized on June 12 due to infection in the respiratory tract and nasal bleeding, as reported by the Hindu.

The money laundering case alleges that the assets of Associated Journals Ltd., which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian, in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi owned 38% shares each. It was alleged that Young Indian paid ₹50 lakh to the Congress for transferring the ₹90-crore debt to it. The Congress has said in retaliation that the Young Indian was a not-for-profit company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, that could neither accumulate profits nor pay dividends to its shareholders, reported the Hindu.