ED grills Rahul - Maha Cong says 'BJP's countdown has begun'

Mumbai, June 15 (IANS) Against the backdrop of the ongoing 3-days long interrogation of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the police entering the AICC headquarters in Delhi, the Maharashtra Congress said that "the countdown has begun" for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, here on Wednesday.

State Congress President Nana Patole said that the so-called probe against Rahul is being carried out "at the behest of the Central government", and the Congress is not scared of such repressive tactics.

"The action is clearly out of vendetta for the political demise of the Gandhi family. Now, the Delhi Police in tandem with the BJP has carried out atrocities on Congress leaders, MPs and office-bearers in Delhi," said Patole.

He said the Congress which had successfully fought to oust the British Empire and secured Independence for the country, and "now the BJP's countdown has started", while addressing mediapersons.

Terming the situation in the country "very grim", Patole said the BJP has unleashed attacks on Congress Chief Ministers, Ministers and MPs who had gone to New Delhi for taking part in the 'satyagraha', and many were assaulted.

"The present government at the Centre is worse than the British rulers, but we are not afraid as the Congress had succeeded in forcing the powerful Britishers to leave the country," Patole thundered.

The Congress chief pointed out how, regardless of the threats to his life, Rahul Gandhi has been relentlessly raising burning questions concerning the masses to the Centre.

"But the Centre has no replies to the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi and hence the government is resorting to such actions to muzzle his voice... but the party will not keep quiet," affirmed Patole.

Intensifying protests against the Centre, the Maharashtra Congress will hold an agitation outside Raj Bhavan here on Thursday, and in all districts on Friday to highlight the repressive tactics of the BJP regime, said PWD Minister Ashok Chavan, who was present along with other senior leaders.

"The state of the country is currently worse than even the Emergency, the Centre has crossed all limits and barged inside the Congress headquarters, beat up Congress leaders and even mediapersons, prohibitory orders have been imposed. We call upon the courts to take cognisance how Section 144 can be applied in any office," demanded Chavan.

Congress Legislature Party Leader and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said that the series of recent actions prove that the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "scared of Rahul Gandhi" as he has voicing the nation's concerns on the economy, unemployment, inflation and the anti-people policies of the Centre.

"We are firmly behind Rahul Gandhi and under his leadership, the party shall fight this tyranny of the BJP," said Thorat.

Other top leaders present were School Education Minister Prof. Varsha Gaikwad, Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Vadettiwar, State Working Presidents Chandrakant Handore, Naseem Khan, General Secretary Devanand Pawar, Women Congress State President Sandhya Savvalakhe, State General Secretary Devanand Pawar, etc.

Later, all the Congress leaders joined by hundreds of other activists, staged a noisy demonstration near the Regal Cinema to protest the interrogation of ED by Rahul Gandhi and the Delhi Police action at the AICC headquarters and the excesses of the BJP government.