Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned him on April 16 in Gurugram land case. Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, claimed if he had entered politics then BJP “would either speak of dynasty or misuse ED”.
Vadra called ED summon basless and linked the questioning to his messages through social media regarding “atrocities on minorities”.
“If I would enter politics, which is what everyone wants, they (BJP) would either speak of dynasty or misuse ED. This difficulty started when, a few days back, I gave messages through social media regarding atrocities on minorities. This is nothing else. Ever since I said that people wanted me to enter politics, this difficulty started. But the ED summon has no basis,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
‘This is political vendetta’
Vadra on Wednesday appeared before the ED for the second round of questioning in connection with the investigation into a case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) linked to a 2008 Haryana’s Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) case.
“We told the ED we were organising our documents, I am always ready to be here… I hope there’s a conclusion today. There is nothing in the case… When I speak in favor of the country, I am stopped, Rahul is stopped from speaking in the Parliament. BJP is doing it. This is a political vendetta. People love me and want me to join politics,” he said.
“When I express my willingness to join politics, they bring up old issues to bring me down and divert from the real issues… There is nothing in the case. I have been summoned 15 times and interrogated for more than 10 hours every time for the last 20 years. Organising 23,000 documents is not easy,” Vadra added.
What is the Robert Vadra case about?
The case pertains to a land transaction from February 2008, when Vadra’s firm, Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, acquired a 3.5-acre plot in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore. Allegations surfaced that the land mutation process was completed in 25 hours.
A chargesheet was filed in November, 2023 against fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and British national Sumit Chadha in a separate case. At the time, the ED stated that Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had purchased numerous acres of land in Haryana through a Delhi-based real estate agent, who also sold land to NRI businessman CC Thampi.