Rahul Gandhi Summons Was ‘Baseless’: P Chidambaram

New Delhi: With Rahul Gandhi set to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday asserted that the summons to the former party chief was “baseless” and said it appears that the ED’s jurisdiction does not extend to the BJP members or to states ruled by the saffron party.

Chidambaram also said every effort should be made and will be made to forge unity among the Opposition parties in the upcoming presidential polls.

Asked about the ED summons to Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and the Congress’ decision of a show of strength when the former appears before the investigative agency on Monday, Chidambaram said, “I speak as a Congress member and an advocate.

The ED’s summons to Mr Rahul Gandhi under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) is baseless.” Pointing out that the offence of money laundering requires ‘money’ and ‘laundering of money’, the former home minister said that in the National Herald debt-to-equity conversion, something which lending banks do on a regular basis, there was no transaction of money.

Therefore, how can there be money laundering, he asked. “It is like accusing a person of the offence of ‘purse snatching’ when there was no purse and no snatching,” he argued.

As Congress members, Chidambaram said, party leaders will express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi and march with him to the ED’s office on Monday.

Reacting to the government’s contention that the agencies do their job and the opposition should not worry if they have done no wrong, Chidambaram said as far as the ED ‘doing its job’ is concerned, “it appears that the ED’s jurisdiction does not extend to BJP members or to states ruled by the BJP!”

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