NEW DELHI: The Congress has sought action against Enforcement Directorate officials who "selectively leaked" to some media houses information related to Rahul Gandhi's questioning, as the party also served a legal notice on three Union ministers over the issue.
In the notice to Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Congress MP and legal cell head Vivek Tankha has asked them to stop using the ED as a tool to settle political scores, and desist from "spreading false narratives" about the former Congress chief.
The notice comes in the wake of media reports claiming that Gandhi has told the ED that he has no knowledge about the dealings of Young India with Associated Journals, which publishes the National Herald, and that it was done by the late party treasurer Motilal Vora.
The notice also calls upon the ministers to fix responsibility on such officers of the Enforcement Directorate who have resorted to such "illegalities".
"This is a judicial proceeding and selective leaks by the ED to malign Rahul Gandhi's image is a criminal offence and an attempt to interfere with an ongoing judicial proceeding which is a second crime," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
"We have demanded that the responsibility of the ED officers be fixed and if not, the Congress party will be constrained to prosecute ED officers for fixation of officers and crimes by them," he told PTI.
The notice asks them to ensure the Enforcement Directorate immediately stops spreading "false narratives about Rahul Gandhi for ulterior political motives and as a tool to settle political scores".
"I also call upon you (the ministers) to fix responsibility on such officer of the Enforcement Directorate who has resorted to such illegalities by causing the leaks," Tankha said in his notice.
Explaining why he served the legal notice on the ministers, Tankha said the ED is clearly acting at the "behest of its political masters" and is carrying out political vendetta against Rahul Gandhi.
"It is appropriate (then) that this letter be addressed to the finance minister, the minister of law and the home minister jointly," he said.
"It is deplorable that the Enforcement Directorate is being used as a tool of political vendetta against Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the Congress, which happens to the principal opposition party to the BJP," the notice said.
He said the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi will never bow down to this kind of abuse of process and threats and will fight to protect the constitution and the freedoms enshrined in it till the last breath.
Political battles have to be fought between political parties and using the Enforcement Directorate to settle political scores and harass the opposition leadership is an assault on the Constitution, Tankha said in his notice.
The entire country knows that Rahul Gandhi is being summoned at this juncture as he is the most vociferous and credible voice against the BJP, he noted, adding that "the case that has been foisted is utterly hopeless and has no basis in law".
It appears the Enforcement Directorate is selectively divulging false information at the behest of its political masters to certain media houses in order to create a completely false political narrative with malafide motive and to misrepresent the actual facts as to what transpired before the ED during the questioning, he said.
"If the government is allowing this, it is complicit in this exercise and this is happening at its behest," the notice alleges.
Trashing reports that Gandhi is not cooperating with the probe agency, Tankha asked under what law the ED is authorised to leak what has transpired during the investigation.
"I believe that because it is clear by now that there is no criminality involved and that eventually Enforcement Directorate's case will collapse, therefore there is a deliberate attempt on the Enforcement Directorate's part to create a false political narrative.
"That the ED should be used to muzzle the voice of the opposition is a grave threat to democracy itself," the Rajya Sabha MP said in his notice.
Citing recent court orders over media coverage to create sensationalism through leaked information, Tankha said the government should show respect for courts and the law.
The Enforcement Directorate and the government should stop this charade and sham investigation, he said.
A complaint has been lodged with the National Human Rights Commission, alleging "manhandling" of a few Congress women workers by some security personnel during a protest held on Jun 15 against the questioning of party leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate.
According to the details available on NHRC's website, the complaint has been filed by advocate Amrish Ranjan Pandey, a Congress worker and advocate Ambuj Dixit, national co-coordinator, legal cell, Indian Youth Congress.
The two party workers have alleged that male security personnel deployed by Delhi Police on Wednesday had forcibly entered the Congress headquarters here and beat up party workers and leaders.
A few male personnel of the Rapid Action Force unit, which was also deployed, had "manhandled a few female Congress workers", Pandey alleged, and said, "our complaint has been registered by the NHRC today."
Mahila Congress workers were "unlawfully and without any authority" prevented from exercising their right to protest, the complaints wrote to the rights panel.
RAF comes under the Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF) and deployed by authorities as a situation warrants to control the law and order situation.
The Congress had on Wednesday alleged that Delhi Police personnel forcibly entered its headquarters and beat up party workers and leaders on a day the party staged vociferous protests against Gandhi's questioning by the ED in a money laundering case.
The police had, however, rejected as "totally false" the allegations that its personnel forcibly entered the Congress headquarters here and beat up party workers and leaders during the protest.
The Delhi Police had said despite its suggestion to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar, the Congress leaders, showing "utter disregard to Supreme Court guidelines", tried to create public disturbances in the area.
Congress protests across country
Meanwhile, Congress leaders including senior ministers of the Maharashtra government were detained by police on Thursday as they protested at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.
Police took action as Congress leaders tried to remove barricades placed outside the Raj Bhavan gate during their protest march which started near the Hanging Garden in south Mumbai.
State Congress president Nana Patole, PWD minister Ashok Chavan, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, Energy Minister Nitin Raut, Fisheries Minister Aslam Sheikh, Women and Child Welfare Minister Yashomati Thakur, School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad, Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh, Minister of State for Agriculture Vishwajit Kadam and Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap were among those detained.
They were taken to Azad Maidan police station and released after some time, said a police official.
Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters, Patole said the party was protesting against the "dictatorial attitude of the Narendra Modi government", and attempts to "supress the opposition's voice" will not succeed.
The BJP government at the Centre was trying to intimidate the Congress leadership by using government agencies but Congress is not scared of such pressure tactics, he said.
"Rahul Gandhi has become the voice of the country as he has been taking up people's issues and questioning the Modi government. Congress workers are taking an aggressive stand following this vindictive action against our leader," Patole added.
Ministers, MPs, MLAs and women activists of the party were being beaten up by police as Congress has taken to the streets, he alleged.
Minister Thorat said Congress workers have stood up against the central government's "repression."
"Through this protest march, we are trying to convey this dissatisfaction to the Modi government. It is reprehensible to harass a family who sacrificed everything for the country," he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi (who too has been summoned by the ED in the case) and Rahul Gandhi will "endure this repression and bounce back stronger," Thorat said.
"It is our expectation that the Governor will convey our sentiments to the Union government, he added.
Ashok Chavan said the party leadership was being "suppressed by implicating them in false cases."
Meanwhile, a release from the Raj Bhavan claimed that Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had agreed to meet a Congress delegation led by Thorat on Thursday afternoon, but the appointment was cancelled later on a request from Thorat's office.
Delhi Congress workers on Thursday were faced with water cannons during a march to Lieutenant Governor's residence here to decry the alleged police high-handedness at the party's national headquarters a day earlier.
The protest march led by state president Anil Kumar was stopped by the police, minutes after it started from Sushrut Trauma Centre in Civil Lines.
Kumar suffered a serious head injury after the police resorted to water cannons to disperse the protesting workers, the party alleged.
A Delhi Congress delegation also submitted a memorandum to the LG.
The Congress workers alleged that the police tried to stop them from marching to the LG's house and resorted to water cannons to throw their protest in disarray.
"State president Anil Kumar suffered a serious head injury and broken shoulder after Delhi Police resorted to water cannons at the protest. He has been admitted in the ICU at a hospital," party officials said.
Large number of police personnel was deployed and the area near the trauma centre was barricaded.
On Wednesday, the Congress had alleged that the Delhi Police forcibly entered the party's national headquarters here and "thrashed" the workers and leaders.
Addressing the media after the incident, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala had said, "This is blatantly criminal trespass. We have been protesting peacefully in a Gandhian way but this 'goondaism' is unacceptable. It will not be tolerated."
The party leaders have also demanded an FIR against all police officers who allegedly thrashed the party workers inside their office.
Several leaders, including Anil Kumar, K C Venugopal, and Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas B V, have been detained and released in past protests going on since Monday against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.
Gandhi's questioning by the central agency, which began Monday, has brought the party rank and file together in protest against the police and the government.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah, and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rakibul Hussain were detained on Thursday when they tried to proceed to Raj Bhavan to protest against the Delhi Police for allegedly entering its national headquarters.
Raising slogans and slamming the BJP-led government, the Congress leaders and scores of party workers tried to march along the Mahatma Gandhi Road to the Raj Bhavan.
Anticipating such a move by the opposition party, the Guwahati Police had already put up a strong contingent of personnel and erected barricades to prevent the protesters from proceeding toward the Raj Bhavan.
When the Congress leaders tried to break the barricades and move ahead, police detained dozens of leaders and workers, but later released them, a senior police officer said.
Along with Borah and Hussain, several MLAs, functionaries of the state unit of the party, and office bearers of sister organisations were bundled into buses and detained for a few hours.
"Today Assam Police is behaving like a goonda force of the BJP. We will not accept this. They beat our workers who were just holding a democratic protest. But we are not scared of such tactics," Borah told reporters when he was being whisked away.
The BJP is using all agencies like CBI, ED, and state police as its tool to silence the opposition, which will not sit idle, he claimed.
Later, Borah and other senior leaders met Governor Jagdish Mukhi and submitted a memorandum on behalf of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).
"It is a matter of grave concern and shock that in the 75 years of independent India's history, a ruling government has initiated action through police force inside the premises of the main opposition party of India - All India Congress Committee's (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi yesterday," it said.
The APCC also highlighted a similar incident of "unwarranted" entry of the police inside the premises of Assam Congress Headquarters on GS Road here.
"Police even pushed women members, who were injured in the process. Such action of the law enforcers inside the office premises of Assam Congress is highly condemnable and demands immediate action against the police," the memorandum said.
Slamming the Delhi Police for allegedly entering its national headquarters, the Assam Congress on Wednesday had announced a series of agitations over the next two days across the state.
On Friday, protests will take place in front of the DC offices in all districts, Borah had said.
Several Congress workers on Thursday were detained while marching towards the Raj Bhavan here as a mark of protest against the quizzing of party leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress had on Wednesday given a call of "Raj Bhavan gherao" against Gandhi's questioning and police action at the party's central headquarters in Delhi.
Police, which had put up barricades at the UPCC office here, stopped the Congress workers from marching towards the Raj Bhavan and took several of them into custody as they tried to climb over the barricades amid sloganeering.
"Hundreds of party workers and leaders including national spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh, vice president of state unit Vishva Vijay Singh, senior leaders Virendra Madan, Dwijendra Tripathi, Mukesh Chauhan along with party workers were taken to the Eco garden in buses from the party office," Congress digital media convenor and spokesman Anshu Awasthi claimed.
He said the Congress' legislature party leader Aradhana Mishra and convenor of communications department Naseemuddin Siddiqui were not allowed to move out of their respective houses since the morning and kept under house arrest in view of the "gherao" programme.
"The BJP government is gagging the voice of democracy. What can be more immoral than police barging into the Congress' central office and beating up the party workers, and when the partymen here try to protest against it, they are not allowed to even raise their voice against arbitrary action," Awasthi said.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress had given a call for "Raj Bhavan gherao" to protest the continued questioning of former party president Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate.
Siddiqui had on Wednesday said the manner in which Gandhi is being tortured by the ED at the behest of the BJP will not be tolerated, Senior Congress leader and MP Pramod Tiwari, while talking to newspersons here on Thursday, said Gandhi, who has been the president of a national party, is constantly being called to the ED office.
Alleging that the ED is deliberately harassing him, Tiwari said how can Gandhi be accused of non-cooperation when he is going whenever asked by the ED.
The BJP government is acting out of vendetta and this needs to be condemned by all, he said.
A 10-member delegation of Gujarat Congress on Thursday called on Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat in Gandhinagar to register their protest against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate and the police action against party leaders in Delhi.
While the police allowed prominent leaders of the Congress to go inside the Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor, nearly 20 party workers, who tried to stage a demonstration on a road outside the Raj Bhavan were detained, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, M K Rana, adding that they were released afterwards.
The delegation, led by Gujarat Congress President Jagdish Thakor, handed over a memorandum to the Governor claiming that Rahul Gandhi is being intentionally targeted by the ruling BJP in the National Herald case.
"Through our memorandum, we urged the governor to use his position to restore the rule of the Constitution in the country. Police action at the AICC headquarters in Delhi yesterday was akin to the murder of democracy. But Congress workers can never be intimidated by such tactics," Thakor told reporters in Gandhinagar after meeting Devvrat.
Other senior leaders who were part of the delegation included Leader of Opposition in Assembly Sukhram Rathva, his predecessor Paresh Dhanani, former Gujarat Congress presidents Amit Chavda and Arjun Modhwadia.
According to Thakor, the ED's case against Rahul Gandhi is frivolous and the agency has not found any concrete evidence yet.
"This is an old case and Rahul Gandhi has been called several times in the past too for questioning. But ED has found nothing till date. We demand that the media should be allowed during the questioning. The ruling BJP is only torturing and harrasing our leader," Thakor said.
He added that the Gujarat party unit will stage protests across Gujarat on Friday condemning the Delhi police action at the AICC headquarters and ED's ongoing inquiry against Rahul Gandhi.
Scores of Congress workers tried to take out a march to the Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhavan here on Thursday, but were stopped and detained by police.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G A Mir and several leaders were among those detained.
Congress leaders and workers assembled outside the party office at Shaheedi Chowk and tried to take out the march towards the Raj Bhavan when police took them into preventive custody.
"We have come together to lodge our strong protest against the BJP-led central government which is trying to silence the voice of people by implicating Rahul Gandhi in a fake case," Mir told reporters.
He said they are also protesting against the police action against party activists in the national capital, where senior leaders, including Members of Parliament, were "dragged" out of the party headquarters.
"This is not democracy and people will not tolerate this," he said and accused the Narendra Modi government of destroying the democratic culture in the country and creating mistrust among the people.
He said the Congress would not be cowed down by such tactics and would fight back the "repressive policies" of the government and safeguard the democracy.
Among others who were detained by the police were JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla, vice president Mula Ram and chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma.
Meanwhile, the party issued an advisory to caution all workers against any sort of "indecency" against the prime minister or any other leader and the authorities while expressing their anger against the "highly objectionable and vindictive actions" of the government against the party leadership.
"Since there is a lot of anger, for quite justified reasons, amongst the party men over the ongoing illegal and undemocratic actions against Rahul Gandhi and other top leadership, there is possibility of someone losing control over words or may be provoked by some vested interests to utter any irresponsible words.
"While we have every right and reason to strongly protest the actions of the Modi government, it is strictly advised to all party men to be very careful in choosing their words or slogans and not to indulge in any kind of indecency in their protests," the advisory stated, adding anyone not following it will be acted against by the party.
Congress MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha Chairman
Congress MPs Thursday met the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman to raise the issue of Delhi Police action against party lawmakers including some women during their protests in the national capital, and alleged they were treated like "terrorists".
They alleged that their privileges as members of parliament have been breached and demanded lawful action against the Delhi Police.
Congress leaders and MPs have been staging demonstrations against their former president Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case pertaining to the National Herald newspaper, which they have alleged is "false".
The delegation that met LS Speaker Om Birla was led by the party's leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, while the delegation that called on RS Chairman Venkaiah Naidu was led by the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.
They also handed over a pen drive containing videos of the alleged harassment of MPs and how they were "ill-treated" by Delhi Police personnel.
Chowdhury also trashed as "plants by the ED and the BJP government" reports that Gandhi allegedly put the blame on former Congress treasurer Motilal Vora for wrongdoings in the National Herald case.
"These are only plants. It is done for their convenience to divide and break the Congress. We do not know, he is our leader, but they know."
The Lok Sabha MP said the ED and the government should not pursue politics of vendetta and violence.
"Have you ever seen any political leader being questioned for so many days? But what crime have we done? We only wanted to stand in solidarity with our leader."
"The manner in which the police have treated us, looks as if we are all terrorists," Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting.
He alleged even women MPs were beaten up and their clothes "torn".
"Is this an 'Amrit Kaal'? The Modi and Amit Shah government are turning this Amrit kaal into a Poison Kaal? Have there never been agitations and we are only peacefully trying to put across our side peacefully in a Gandhian way," he said.
His reference was apparently to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during the 75th Independence Day celebrations in 2021 when he had said India was entering the 'Amrit Kaal' of 25 years.
Kharge said they have told the Chairman the Congress MPs were misbehaved with were taken to police stations without informing the Chairman or the Speaker as is mandated by rules.
"But their intent was to harass and mentally torture the MPs and our privilege has been violated. We wanted the chairman to take note of this and take action."
"We want this be treated as a privilege notice and it is the right of the Chairman to defend us for violation of our rights and ask them how MPs were detained. The Chairman said he will examine this and get details of the incidents," he told reporters.
Senior leader P Chidambaram said the ED cannot leak its version of the interrogation.
"The fact that ED has leaked selected parts of the investigation according to their understanding clearly establishes bias and prejudice."
He also said the police have assaulted MPs of both house and have taken them away MPs in police stations bordering Haryana and held them without a written order for eight to 10 hours and have denied them food and water.
"They have not arrested us and no information has been given to Parliament."
"It is a clear violation of liberty. MPs have privileges and have fundamental right as per Article 19 and Article 21. Every fundamental right and privilege has been violated. We have appealed to the Chairman to take action of breach of privilege as well as breach of liberty and let the process of law take its course," the former union minister said.
Let the matter be referred to the privileges committee, Chidambaram demanded.
The party's memorandum to the RS Chairman also said, "This is a clear case of violation of the privileges of MPs and we urge you to take notice of these incidents and deal with the matter appropriately."
Chowdhury narrated how some party MPs, including Karur Lok Sabha MP Jothimani, were allegedly dragged by the Delhi Police and that her clothes "were torn".
"We met the Speaker and raised the issue of the manner in which our MPs and leaders were treated by the Delhi police and sought action against the accused police officers," Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting.
He said the MPs only stood in solidarity with their leader and wanted to accompany him till the ED office peacefully, but were instead "beaten up" and prevented by the cops.
Chowdhury was accompanied by chief whip of the party K Suresh, the party's whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore and other MPs including Gurjit Aujla.
The RS delegation was led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and had senior Congress leaders such as P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal.
Top Congress leaders also held a meeting of party general secretaries and in-charges to decide on their response to the police action against Congress leaders.
The party has also accused the Delhi Police of criminal trespass by entering the AICC office and beating up its leaders, a charge denied by the force.
The party has lodged a written complaint for registration of an FIR against the erring staff and demanded their suspension.
The Congress is Thursday staging a gherao of all Raj Bhawans across the country against the police action and "brutalities" against Congress workers and leaders.
Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar and a number of other party leaders were detained by police on Thursday while they were marching towards the Raj Bhavan to protest against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald money laundering case.
The Congress workers, including women members of the party, waived black flags during the protest.
They were stopped on a road leading to the Raj Bhavan, located in Dona Paula area near the state capital, and later taken to the Panaji police station, a senior police official said.
"It was preventive detention to ensure there was no law and order issue due to their protest," the official said.
However, Patkar told reporters that they had gone to meet Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai.
"We had an appointment with the governor, but despite that, we are detained," he said.
Patkar claimed the BJP-led central government was targeting opposition leaders using the central agencies.