The Congress party on Monday staged a massive protest in Hyderabad against the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate to party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

Vehicular traffic was thrown out of the gear core city area as hundreds of party leaders marched to the regional ED office at Basheerbagh.

The massive rally led by the party’s state President A. Revanth Reddy began from Necklace Road on the banks of Hussain Sagar.

The state Congress is organising the rally in response to the call given by the party’s central leadership to organise the protest till Rahul Gandhi comes out of ED office.

Wearing black scarves, holding party flags and raising slogans against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, the protestors marched to Basheerbagh via NTR Marg, Secretariat, Telugu Talli flyover, and Liberty.

The protestors were carrying placards demanding the ED to immediately withdraw the summons issued to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing the protestors, Revanth Reddy said there was no case against the top leaders of the party but the BJP government at the Centre was trying to target them as it feared defeat in 2024 elections.

He said since both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were fearless in their attacks on the Modi government for its anti-people policies, the government was looking to frame them in false cases.

Revanth Reddy also alleged that the BJP government was also trying to divert people’s attention from its failures on all fronts and the steep hike in fuel prices.

He said the people would fight against the attempts by the BJP to target the members of Gandhi family, which made many sacrifices for the country. He alleged that the ED has become a puppet in the hands of the Modi government.

Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, former MPs Ponnam Prabhakar and Anjan Kumar Yadav, former ministers Mohammed Ali Shabbir, Jeevan Reddy, and other leaders participated in the rally.