NEW DELHI, July 21(ABC): Indian investigators on Thursday summoned Sonia Gandhi, president of the Opposition Congress party, for questioning on money laundering accusations that her allies have blamed on an abuse of government power.
The 75-year-old has been a driving influence in her once-dominant party since the 1991 assassination of her husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and heir to a political dynasty that stretches back to the country’s independence from Britain.
Authorities are probing a decade-old complaint filed by a lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who accused her family of misusing Congress funds to buy a now-defunct newspaper business and personally acquire its highly valuable property portfolio.
The Gandhi family has denied the allegations and Congress has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party of misusing its power.