Indian opposition leader Sonia Gandhi questioned in corruption probe
India's opposition leader Sonia Gandhi has been questioned by a government agency in connection with a corruption case, prompting her Congress Party to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration of carrying out "a relentless campaign of vendetta" against its political opponents.
Sonia, the president of Congress Party, was questioned by money laundering investigators on Thursday. She arrived at the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates financial crimes.
The 75-year-old leader and her son Rahul Gandhi have been accused of misusing party funds to acquire valuable real estate through a convoluted financial deal.
In June, Rahul was questioned for around 50 hours over five days by the ED in connection with the allegations.
The complaint against Gandhis was lodged nine years ago by a member of parliament from Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The assets belonged to a firm that published the National Herald newspaper, founded in 1937 by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister and Rahul's great grandfather.
On Thursday, lawmakers from the Congress Party staged a protest inside and outside parliament, holding posters and shouting slogans against Modi and his government.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters, "This is a conspiracy to silence us and the intention is to rid the country of any opposition parties."
BJP leaders have denied accusations by Congress Party leaders that they are misusing federal institutions to settle political scores.
Opposition parties have accused the ruling party of resorting to maximal deployment of Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department as instruments of political coercion.
In recent months, a range of controversial policies by India's ruling party has angered the opposition parties and their leaders. Fears of India becoming a Hindu authoritarian state have been rising since Modi of the BJP came to power in New Delhi in 2014.
The BJP party’s Hindutva philosophy—the creation of a great Hindu state—envisages a Hindu state where citizens with other religious beliefs are tolerated but have second‐class status.
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