Sonia tests Covid positive; will appear before ED, says Cong

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday tested positive for COVID-19 and has isolated herself, the party said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said she had developed a mild fever on Wednesday evening and was found COVID-19 positive on testing on Thursday morning.

He said the Congress president has been meeting leaders and activists over the last week, some of whom have been found COVID-19 positive.

In a series of tweets, Surjewala said,'Congress president had developed mild fever and COVID symptoms last evening. On testing, she has been found to be COVID positive.'

'Congress president will appear before ED on 8th June, as informed by us earlier. We, at Indian National Congress, shall keep you posted about any future developments,' he tweeted.

Surjewala said as per medical advice, the Congress president has isolated herself.

'As a large number of Congressmen and women and well-wishers have expressed concern, we want to say that she is fine and recovering.

'We thank everyone for their good wishes,' he also said

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Sonia Gandhi and her son Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on June 8 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper-AJL issue.

Surjewala said he hoped the Congress chief will recover in the next few days and will again get herself tested before her appearance before the ED.

The ED summons triggered furious reactions from the Congress, which alleged that the 'fake issue of AJL, (Associated Journals Limited) is an attempt by BJP's propaganda machinery to deviate, divert and digress the attention of citizens from the multifarious vital issues of inflation, falling GDP and social unrest, social divisiveness in this country'.

'It is clear that the dictator is scared now and is trying to hide all his failures on the governance front by misusing all government agencies. This time they have come out with a new hideous and cowardly conspiracy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting ED notices issued against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,' the party had said.

Reacting to the Congress' allegations, the government on Wednesday said the agencies do their job and the opposition should not worry if they have done no wrong.