Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge being summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during the working hours of Parliament is a new low and an insult to parliamentary conventions, the Congress said on Thursday.
“Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, was summoned by the ED when Parliament is in session. He, of course, left around 12:20pm and presented himself. This is Modishahi reaching new lows,” tweeted Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh.
Mr. Ramesh added that the LoP had been undergoing interrogation by the ED for four-and-a-half hours. “His ordeal is continuing. The Congress party stands with him in solidarity,” he said.
Speaking with the media, senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member, Digvijaya Singh, said that summoning the LoP during Parliamentary proceedings had never happened in the history of democracy.
“There is no such example in the history of democracy. If they had to call Mallikarjun Kharge ji, they could have called him before 11 a.m. or after 5 p.m. The Question Hour was going on and before that Zero Hour was there and ED is calling him to appear before it,” Mr. Singh said.
“Why is [Narendra] Modi ji scared? Inflation has increased, you can see for yourself. We are fighting your battle. Tomorrow [Friday] at 11 a.m. all MPs will meet the President to say that the Finance Minister [Nirmala Sitharaman] is not acquainted with the economic condition of the country,” he added.
The Congress has planned a mass protest against price rise, unemployment and the GST hike on essential items on Friday, wherein it will take out a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and ‘gherao’ the Prime Minister’s residence.
Another Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari said, ”Two days before Vice-Presidential election, Kharge ji was called and the ED was misused. This is not just insult of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha but of the Constitution, traditions on which Rajya Sabha functions and of the entire legislature”.
