Is Sonia Gandhi a super human being? BJP minister slams Cong protests over ED questioning

New Delhi, July 21: Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday in Lok Sabha slammed the protesting Congress workers, asking whether Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi is 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...," ANI quoted Joshi as saying in Lok Sabha.

Sonia Gandhi is appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today in connection with the National Herald case. This is the first time that any federal probe agency will be questioning the Congress president.

The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the ED's investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL.

However, Congress has dubbed the probe as the ruling BJP's political vendetta. It has described its agitation against the ED's probe against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in the National Herald case as "satyagrah", a form of protest associated with Mahatma Gandhi.

"The Congress has become a pocket organisation of a family, and now its assets are also being pocketed by the family," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged, attacking the Gandhis. Both are out on bail in the case, he told reporters.

Gandhis floated Young Indian, in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul have 76 per cent shares, to grab assets of the National Herald, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad charged.

Opposition parties hit out at the government "for unleashing a relentless campaign" against its political opponents through 'mischievous' misuse of probe agencies.

"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 leaders charged in a joint statement.

Ahead of Sonia Gandhi's questioning by the ED in the National Herald money laundering case, leaders of 13 political parties met at Parliament House and condemned the action.