The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday summoned interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her parliamentarian son Rahul Gandhi in connection with the alleged National Herald cash laundering case. While Sonia has been requested to be a part of the investigation on June 8, Rahul was about to be called on June 2.
However, Rahul Gandhi has sought a date after June 5 on the grounds that he is now not in the Country at present, party sources said.
Rahul Gandhi, in one of his speeches in 2014, blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the loss of life of Mahatma Gandhi, following which RSS leader Rajesh Kunte filed a defamation suit towards him in front of a judicial Justice of the Peace in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Last month, the court ruled in favour of the Wayanad MP and Kunte was charged with fine of ₹1,000 to Gandhi.
In March 2022, Gandhi received a notice from the Gujarat High court in other defamation case filed via state Bharatiya Janata Party minister Purnesh Modi in April 2019 over a generalised comment the Congress leader made over the surname ‘Modi’. Speaking at a rally in Karnataka beforehand of the 2019 general elections, Gandhi reportedly asked, “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi… How come they all have ‘Modi’ as the common surname? How come all the thieves have ‘Modi’ as the frequent surname?” Last year, Gandhi marked his presence in front of the Surat court and pleaded no longer guilty. As per media reports, a public interest litigation (PIL) was also filed in the Jharkhand high court for his “derogatory remarks”. However, the HC granted him relief in the case.
In 2018, referring to the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France, the former Congress president allegedly referred to as PM Modi “the commander-in-thief”. The assertion did not go down well with the ruling political party at the Centre, and BJP employee Mahesh Shrishrimal filed a criticism in opposition to Gandhi at the magistrate courtroom in Girgaum, Maharashtra. Hearings in the ongoing case have been deferred as per the Bombay high court’s instruction to the Justice of the Peace court.
