A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sealed ‘Young Indian’, a not-for-profit company that owns Associated Journal Limited-controlled National Herald newspaper, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said the Narendra Modi Government is trying to intimidate but he isn’t scared.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament on August 4, Mr. Gandhi dared the government to do whatever it can but he won’t back down.
“This is an attempt at intimidation. They think that they will silence us by putting a little bit of pressure. We will continue to fight against the anti-democratic acts of [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi and [Home Minister] Amit Shah. No matter what they do,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters.
“We will not be intimated and we are not scared of Narendra Modi. Let them do what they want to do. It won’t make any difference. My work is to protect the nation, its democratic values and maintain its harmony. I will continue to do so. They can do what they want,” he added.
The issue of ED’s action was raised in both the Houses of Parliament in the morning after a strategy meet of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meeting presided by Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
In the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Kharge lost his cool in the House when he was interrupted just when he started speaking.
“This morning at 11:15 a.m., Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, did not allow the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, to have his say. This is the Modi brand of ‘democracy’ at work!” tweeted Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh.
After a brief adjournment, when the Rajya Sabha met at 12 noon, Mr. Kharge said despite the House being in session, he has received a summon from ED to appear before the agency at 12.30 p.m.
He added that houses of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former chief Rahul Gandhi had been gheraoed by officials. “They are doing this to scare us, we won’t be cowed down by threats,” he said.
Leader of House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the government doesn’t interfere in functioning of agencies and “it must be happening in their tenure [Congress) not ours”.
By 12:20 p.m., Mr. Kharge left to attend the summons of the ED.
In the Lok Sabha, Congress Chief Whip Kodikunnil Suresh had given an adjournment motion notice to discuss the sealing of ‘Young Indian’ but Speaker Om Birla said he would allow them to raise the matter after Question Hour.
Mr. Birla also warned the Opposition MPs from coming into the Well of the House as constant sloganeering was going on.
He adjourned the House until 2 p.m. after running the Question Hour for 30 minutes. While the Lower House functioned only for a few minutes in the post lunch session, during which government papers were laid on the table of the House, the Rajya Sabha took up discussion on a bill pertaining to Family Courts.
