Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday for her second round of questioning in the money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.

She is expected to depose before the federal probe agency around noon on July 26 for recording of her statement by the ED investigating officer, officials said.

Initially, she was summoned by the agency on Monday but it was deferred by a day.

The 75-five-year old Gandhi was questioned for over two hours during her first day of questioning in the case on July 21 where she replied to 28 questions put forth by the agency, that is probing alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.

Officials said that like it was on the first day of her appearance, all Covid-appropriate protocols will be put in place Tuesday as well such as stationing of doctors and an ambulance, ‘Covid negative’ certificates of investigators and proper physical distancing between Gandhi and the team of investigators.

Gandhi’s children Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi are expected to accompany her to the ED office again like they did last week.

Vadra may again stay back in order to provide any medicines and other medical care, if required.

The Congress has slammed the agency’s action against its top leadership and termed it “political vendetta”.

The Delhi Police is also expected to deploy a huge force, including CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricade the entire over one kilometre stretch between her residence and the ED office.

The move to question the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late last year registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This was after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe against Young Indian based on a private criminal complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders in Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding.

Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

In February last year, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Gandhis seeking their response on Swamy’s plea. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal were questioned by the ED in the case in April.

The Congress has maintained there has been no wrongdoing and Young Indian is a “not-for-profit” company established under section 25 of the Companies Act and hence there can be no question of money laundering.

It is understood that Rahul Gandhi, during his deposition before the ED, stuck to the position that there was no personal acquisition of assets by himself or his family.

According to the ED, assets worth about Rs 800 crore are “owned” by the AJL and the agency wants to know from the Gandhis how a not-for-profit company like Young Indian was undertaking commercial activities of renting out its land and building assets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Opposition of obstructing development works, saying they keep their political interests above that of society and the country.

“Many times, the opposition parties put some obstacles in the government’s work as they could not implement the decisions taken by them when they were in power,” Modi said addressing virtually a programme on the 10th death anniversary of former Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Harmohan Singh Yadav.

“Now, if they (decisions) are implemented, they oppose it. People of the country don’t like it,” he added, stressing in recent times, a trend of keeping “ideology or political interests above the interests of society and the country” is being witnessed.

Drawing attention to the swearing-in of Droupadi Murmu as the country’s new President, Modi said, “For the first time after the Independence, a woman from tribal society is going to lead the country.

Outgoing President fulfilled BJP agenda at cost of constitution: Mehbooba Mufti

Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday accused the outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind of “fulfilling BJP’s political agenda at the cost of the India Constitution.“

“The outgoing President leaves behind a legacy where the Indian Constitution was trampled upon umpteenth times. Be it scrapping of Article 370, CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) or the unabashed targeting of minorities and Dalits, he fulfilled BJPs political agenda all at the cost of the Indian Constitution,”. Mufti tweeted..

She also slammed the government for forcing the people to hoist the national flag. She tweeted a  circular by the Chief Education Officer in central Kashmir’s Budgam, which called on students to pay for the Tricolour for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign.

“Unfortunately, a lower rung government employee who announced the diktat to hoist the Indian flag was fired and will bear the brunt of an atrocious order passed by higher-ups. Here is another directive asking students to purchase the national flag for ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’,” Mehbooba Mufti tweeted with an attached copy of the order.

Droupadi Murmu on Monday took oath as the 15th President of India.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered her oath at a ceremony held at Parliament’s Central Hall in the presence of former president Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi amongst others.
She took the oath in the name of god in Hindi.

The 25th batch of over 3,800 Amarnath pilgrims left the base camp in Jammu for the twin base camps of the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas on Monday, officials said.

A total of 3,862 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here in a convoy of 125 vehicles amid heavy security of the Central Reserve Police Force this morning, the officials said.

They said 1,835 pilgrims heading for Baltal were the first to leave the Bhagwati Nagar camp in 46 vehicles, followed by the second convoy of 79 vehicles carrying 2,027 pilgrims for Pahalgam.

The annual 43-day yatra commenced from the twin base camps — traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal — on June 30.

Over 2.25 lakh pilgrims have offered prayers at the cave shrine, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlingam, the officials said.

With this, 135,585 pilgrims have left from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Valley since June 29, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

The yatra is scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

Thirty six pilgrims have died during the yatra so far and another 15 pilgrims died in the flashfloods near the Amarnath cave shrine on July 1.

Delhi Congress on Monday said it staged a protest outside Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s residence here, demanding his resignation over alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in the city government’s excise policy.

Leaders and workers of the party gathered in Patparganj holding banners and raised slogans against Sisodia and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Earlier, the Delhi Congress had accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of being “knee-deep in corruption” and submitted a written complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, seeking a probe into the liquor policy.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has recently recommended a CBI probe into the policy.

According to officials, the inquiry was recommended on a basis of a report filed by the Delhi chief secretary, showing prima facie violations, including “deliberate and gross procedural lapses”, to provide post-tender “undue benefits to liquor licensees”.

Actor Ranbir Kapoor’s latest feature “Shamshera” has raised Rs 32 crore in box office collections, the makers said Monday.
Directed by Karan Malhotra and produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF), “Shamshera” released in theatres on July 22.

YRF shared the first weekend box office figures of the film in a note.
“‘Shamshera’ – India NBOC Day 1 – Rs 10.25 Cr Day 2 – Rs 10.50 Cr Day 3 – Rs 11.00 Cr. Total – ? 31.75 Cr,” the studio stated.

Also starring Sanjay Dutt and Vaani Kapoor, “Shamshera” was billed as a big scale action-drama set in the 1800s.

Trade experts had expected the film to work wonders at the box office as it marked the return of Ranbir Kapoor to the big screen after his 2018 blockbuster “Sanju”.

But “Shamshera” started slow and has since been unable to register any major spike in its collection.

The film chronicles the story of a dacoit tribe, headed by Ranbir Kapoor who plays the dual role of Shamshera and his son, Balli fighting for their right and independence from the British.

A 34-year-old man from the national capital with no history of foreign travel has tested positive for monkeypox virus, official sources said on Sunday.

This is the fourth case of the disease being reported in India.

The man had attended a stag party recently in Manali in Himachal Pradesh, official sources told PTI.

A resident of West Delhi, the man was admitted to the Maulana Azad Medical College Hospital here around three days ago after he showed symptoms of monkeypox.

His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune on Saturday which came out positive, the sources said.

“Contact tracing process has been initiated,” the sources said. Three cases of monkeypox had earlier been reported from Kerala.

The WHO had on Saturday declared monkeypox as a global public health emergency of international concern.

Monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans via indirect or direct contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with infectious skin or lesions, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and respiratory droplets.

Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries and there have been five deaths so far due to the outbreak.

In the WHO South-East Asia Region, besides India, one case has been detected from Thailand.

President-elect Droupadi Murmu paid floral tributes at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in Raj Ghat on Monday morning, ahead of her swearing in ceremony.

She was escorted by military and other officials.

Chief Justice of India N V Ramana will administer her oath as the 15th President of India at the historic Central Hall of Parliament House.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has again summoned Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on July 25 after questioning her for three hours in connection with the National Herald case on Thursday.
After the first round of interrogation, the Congress interim president left for lunch break with her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, when the ED sent her fresh summons calling her again.
Earlier in the day, Sonia reached the ED’s headquarters at around 12.10 p.m and was questioned by a team of additional director Monika Sharma.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi accompanied their mother to the ED Office. While Rahul left the office after a few minutes, Priyanka stayed back with her mother’s medicines.
Priyanka had sought ED’s permission to be around her mother during the latter’s interrogation owing to her ill health.
According to ED sources, she was asked the same set of questions which were asked to Rahul Gandhi during his five-day questioning.