Cong leaders on streets to save Gandhi family's assets: Smriti Irani

New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday said that Congress leaders have taken to the streets to pressurize the investigating agency because their corruption has been exposed. She also said that nobody is above the law, not even Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing a press conference at party headquarters here on Monday, Smriti Irani said, "The protest Congress leaders and workers are doing today on the call of Rahul Gandhi, is not to protect democracy but to protect the attempt to save assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of Gandhi family."

She slammed the Congress party's 'Satyagraha' march to extend solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, who is being summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case.

"In the 1930s, Associate Journals Limited was formed with 5,000 freedom fighters as shareholders. Today, a company that was to be run by freedom fighters has been given away to the Gandhi family. It is publicly known that the Congress party waived off a loan of Rs 90 crore given to AJL," she said.

Irani said that the Congress members should also ask Rahul Gandhi about his family's relations with Dotex Merchandise Private Limited, a hawala entry operator in Kolkata, whose transactions have been red flagged by the Financial Intelligence Unit.

She asked why the Gandhi family was interested in a former newspaper publishing company which is now running a real estate business.

"This shows that not just 'Jijaji' (Rovert Vadra) but the entire Gandhi family is fascinated by real estate," she added.