Sonia made no request to end questioning today, was willing to return after lunch break: Ramesh

“The Congress president told the ED officials that ‘I am ready to return, I will answer your questions, it may take till 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., I am ready to sit here’.”

Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Jairam Ramesh, K.C. Venugopal and others being detained by security personnel during their protest outside AICC HQ in support of the party Chief Sonia Gandhi who is appearing before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the National Herald case, in New Delhi, Thursday, July 21, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Congress rejected claims that Sonia Gandhi's questioning on Thursday by the Enforcement Directorate ended on her request, saying she was ready to return after lunch break but the officials told her there was no need for that.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh asserted that the party’s president is ready to answer "any question, anytime".

Officials said questioning of the 75-year-old, who is recovering from Covid, lasted for about two hours and the session ended on her request. Rebutting the claim, Mr. Ramesh said at a press conference that there is "no truth in this, it is absolutely baseless and devoid of facts".

He said Ms. Gandhi's questioning began at 12.20 p.m. and ED officials told her that the questioning will continue for two hours and then there will be a lunch break after which she would have to come back for questioning again.

"At 2.20 p.m. when the Congress president was preparing to leave for lunch, she was told by the ED officials that there is no need for her to come back. At 12.20 p.m. it was said 'you should come back after lunch break', at 2.20 p.m. it was said there is no need to come back," Mr. Ramesh said.

"The Congress president told the ED officials that 'I am ready to return, I will answer your questions, it may take till 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., I am ready to sit here'. But from the ED side it was said that their doctor is not available in the afternoon and tomorrow ED is busy in some court issue," Mr. Ramesh said.

Ms. Gandhi, he said, asserted that she is willing to come back for questioning.

Meanwhile, officials said the Enforcement Directorate has summoned Ms. Gandhi for a second round of questioning in the money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper on July 25.

Mr. Ramesh said the ED officials did not want her to come back.

"She said I can come tomorrow also because I want to end this soon. They said we are busy with a court matter, we will decide a date for next week. It may be that Monday or Tuesday may be the next round of questioning," he told reporters.