Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday said his party was prepared for a long battle against the Narendra Modi government as the opposition outfit held protests in the state against the Enforcement Directorate's questioning of Sonia Gandhi in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper.
Talking to reporters, Patole alleged undue harassment of party chief Gandhi by central probe agencies and claimed people are fed up with the Modi government. The ED action against Gandhi invited strong reaction from the Congress which staged street protests across the country during which party leaders courted arrest.
He said, "The National Herald case was closed in 2015 itself as there was no ground to charge the Gandhi family. However, the Gandhi family is being harassed through the ED chiefly because Sonia and (Congress MP) Rahul Gandhi are constantly cornering the Union government over inflation, unemployment and economic issues."
"The Congress party will not bow down to dictatorship...it is prepared to fight a long battle against it," Patole said after leading a protest march denouncing the Centre over the ED action. The march was taken out from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai to the ED office in the city. Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap, former chief minister Ashok Chavan, ex-ministers Dr Nitin Raut and Varsha Gaikwad were among party leaders who took part in the agitation.
Patole claimed people are fed up with the Modi government and said the Union government was only working to harass opposition leaders. Speaking to the media in Nashik after a protest, former revenue minister and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat slammed the Centre over price rise and for increasing GST rates on a number of items.
"Inflation has increased tremendously in the country. The Modi government has imposed GST on foodgrains, milk, curd, paneer, salt and flour and has made life difficult for the common people. Unemployment has skyrocketed and the economy is sinking," he said.
The BJP-led government at the Centre is targetting the Congress to divert people's attention from key issues, Thorat maintained. "Since the Modi government does not have answers to problems facing the country, it is deliberately targeting the Congress to divert people's attention from burning issues," he said.
The ED on Thursday questioned Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi for over two hours in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. She has been summoned again on July 25.
(With PTI Inputs)
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