Congress president Sonia Gandhi tested Covid-positive on Thursday but instructed the party to make it clear that there was no change in her decision to depose before the Enforcement Directorate on June 8 in the National Herald case.
The Congress says the money-laundering case has no basis and is being used to try and intimidate the party. Its leadership doesn’t want to appear hesitant to cooperate with the investigating agency, which is why Sonia has decided to appear before the ED as agreed.
“Sonia Gandhi was meeting party leaders for the past few days. She developed mild fever yesterday, along with some other Covid symptoms. She was found Covid-positive today,” Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala said.
“She has placed herself in isolation on medical advice. But she is fine and is determined to go to the ED on June 8. We are confident she will be okay in three-four days. She will go to the ED on June 8.”
Party sources, however, said it might not be prudent for Sonia to step out unless she is confirmed as Covid-negative before June 8.
“Soniaji is adamant about going to the ED but has been diagnosed with Covid. Hence some rescheduling may be necessary,” Congress leader and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi told The Telegraph.
“We have nothing to hide in this false case. No amount of selective leakage, distortion or misrepresentation by the authorities, through willing proxies, can convert an admittedly non-money-flow, non-property-flow case into a money-laundering case.”
Sonia, who had a few years ago suffered prolonged illness that weakened her immunity, had withdrawn completely from public life quite some time before the 2019 parliamentary election. She had stopped attending public events and rarely addressed rallies.
Even after returning as interim party president when Rahul Gandhi relinquished the post in June 2019, she avoided meeting people and shunned crowded places. But all that has changed over the past few months, with the 75-year-old returning fully to public life despite her vulnerability to Covid.
Sonia attended the three-day Chintan Shivir in Udaipur, interacting freely with the delegates and attending a series of meetings. Since then, she has continued interacting with party leaders.
She attended a Seva Dal event at Rajghat on Wednesday, meeting a large number of people, most of whom had been on the road for over a month as part of the Azadi Gourav Yatra.
Singhvi said no new date had yet been fixed for Rahul, who had been summoned by the ED to appear on Thursday but has asked for a date after June 5 since he is abroad.
An unperturbed Rahul continued attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, criticising the Centre over the militant killings in Kashmir.
Several of the Congress’s state-level Chintan Shivirs on Thursday accused the Centre of vindictive politics in relation to the ED summons to the Gandhis. Some advocated an aggressive response.
“The lie knows it can’t defeat the truth. Even the coward knows it cannot defeat the fearless,” Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel tweeted.
“Using power and democratic institutions as weapons of political vendetta is cowardly. The entire country is standing with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.”
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said: “A very dangerous situation is prevailing in the country. It should worry all. Small issues of caste and religion trigger violence in society. Rahulji rightly said they have sprinkled kerosene on the country. Real issues like inflation and unemployment (are being) brushed aside.”
Gehlot added: “These are fascist people, having no faith in democracy. Anybody can be targeted now. Journalists, writers, artistes are in jail. There is a reason why we say the ED, CBI, income-tax are being used against opponents…. Harassment of some MLAs in Rajasthan has begun in the context of the Rajya Sabha election.”
Gehlot accused the BJP of honing its technique in Gujarat, where it had “pressurised Congress MLAs and weakened us” and was “now doing it everywhere”.