Congress president Sonia Gandhi tests positive for COVID

New Delhi, Jun 2 (PTI) Congress president Sonia Gandhi has tested positive for COVID-19 and she has isolated herself under medical advice, party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Thursday.

He said the Congress chief had a mild fever and she tested positive this morning.

Surjewala said,"we hope she will get better. We will get her tested again and her plan of visiting the ED stands".

The ED had on Wednesday summoned Sonia and Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case, which was closed by the investigating agency in 2015.

The case to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper was registered recently. The agency, officials said, wants to record the statements of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed to the Congress.

He had filed a complaint with a Delhi court earlier. Following the court taking cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against YIL on Swamy's petition, the ED also registered a fresh case under PMLA.