Congress Thinks 'They Are Above Law': Pralhad Joshi On Oppn's Protest In Parliament In Support Of Sonia Gandhi

Ahead of Sonia Gandhi's appearance before ED in the National Herald case, Opposition parties slammed the BJP-led Union government for unleashing a "relentless vendetta against political opponents".

New Delhi: Opposition leaders in the Parliament protested against Congress president Sonia Gandhi's appearance before Enforcement Directorate (ED) by sloganeering during the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sessions on Thursday. While the Lower House was adjourned till 11:30 am, Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon amid sloganeering by Opposition MPs. 

Amid sloganeering by some Opposition leaders in the Parliament, Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday slammed the uproar saying that the Congress thinks they are above the law. "Everybody is equal before the law or not? Is the Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) a superhuman being? They (Congress) think they are above the law...," Joshi said in Lok Sabha, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur also criticised the Congress saying, "If Gandhi family is spotless, why is it anxious? If they have not indulged in corruption then why this ruckus. It's the duty of probe agencies to investigate people involved in corruption..."

Congress MPs held protests in Parliament against the Centre over the questioning of party president Sonia Gandhi by ED in the National Herald case. The Congress MPs moved from Gate No 2 to Gandhi Statue. The protest was staged soon after the Upper House was adjourned till 12 amid Opposition sloganeering, as per ANI.

Earlier in the day, Congress MP and Whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore gave an adjournment motion notice to discuss the misuse of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Tagore sought that the House advise ED to abandon the behaviour of calling the public representatives of the opposition party, especially targeting the opposition leaders and to direct the ED to investigate old scams of the BJP Government.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh gave zero-hour notice over "misuse of central investigation agencies by the ruling government".

Modi Sarkar Unleashed Relentless Campaign Of Vendetta Against Political Opponents: Opposition's Joint Statement

Additionally, in a joint statement, Opposition parties slammed the BJP-led Union government for unleashing a "relentless vendetta against political opponents" through misuse of central probe agencies by targeting prominent leaders of various parties.

"The Modi Sarkar has unleashed a relentless campaign of vendetta against its political opponents and critics through the mischievous misuse of investigative agencies. Prominent leaders of a number of political parties have been deliberately targeted and subjected to harassment in an unprecedented manner," the statement reads, as quoted by ANI.

"We condemn this and resolve to continue and intensify our collective fight against the anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-Constitution policies of the Modi Sarkar that is destroying the social fabric of our society," it added.

The statement was released after floor leaders of all Opposition parties in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met at the office of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament.

Apart from the Congress, Opposition party's leaders of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Shiv Sena and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) were present in the meeting, ANI reported.

(With Agency Inputs)