- By Raju Kumar
- Tue, 15 Apr 2025 03:14 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Robert Vadra & Politics: Robert Vadra, a businessman and a family member of the Gandhi family, often remains in the news despite no formal entry into electoral politics. Interestingly, he faces flak regardless of his family (de facto) headed party - Congress is in power or the Opposition. On Tuesday, Vadra, who is the husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and brother-in-law of LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, once again hit headlines. This time, his name was flashed on TV screens for an appearance before the Enforcement Directorate for alleged involvement in a land scam. He was questioned under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),
What Vadra Said On ED Summons
Vadra termed the agency's move to summon him as "political vendetta", saying he had spent hours with the ED earlier during questioning, shared thousands of pages but still the agency has been raking up cases against him.
"This is nothing but political vendetta. Whenever I speak for minorities they try to stop me, crush us. They tried to stop Rahul (Gandhi) in Parliament too. This is a misuse of agencies and this is political vendetta," he asserted.
What Is The Haryana Land Deal Case?
The probe against Vadra is linked to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur, which pertains to a land deal of February 2008 where a company linked to Vadra-- Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd-- purchased a piece of 3.5 acre land in Shikohpur in Gurugram from a firm named Onkareshwar Properties at a price of Rs 7.5 crore.
Here's Top Highlights Of The Case
-It is alleged that the mutation of this land was done within hours during the tenure of Congress rule in Haryana under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
-The Haryana Police had filed a case in this deal in 2018 when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power.
-Vadra has been questioned multiple times by the federal probe agency in a different money laundering case.
-The ED had filed a chargesheet in December 2023 against UAE-based NRI businessman CC Thampi, who is allegedly linked to Vadra, and Sumit Chadha, a relative of UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, saying it was investigating the purchase of three plots of land in Haryana during 2005-06 by Vadra from a real estate agent along with a land deal made by his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
-However, neither Vadra or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were named as accused in the chargesheet.
-According to the ED, Thampi had purchased about 486 acres of land between 2005 and 2008 in Amirpur village in Faridabad in Haryana through HL Pahwa, a Delhi-NCR based real estate agent.
-"It is imperative to mention that Robert Vadra also purchased three pieces of land measuring 334 kanals (40.08 acres) in Amirpur from HL Pahwa from 2005-2006 and sold the same land to H L Pahwa in December 2010," it said in the chargesheet
-"Further, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wife of Robert Vadra also purchased agricultural land measuring 40 kanal (05 acres) in village Amirpur, district Faridabad, Haryana, from H L Pahwa in April 2006 and sold the same land to H L Pahwa in February 2010," the ED stated.
-"Pahwa was receiving cash out of the books for the purpose of acquisition of land. It was also noticed that Robert Vadra did not pay the entire consideration to Pahwa. The investigation in this regard is still ongoing," the ED said.
Vadra And His Tyrist With Politics
During the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Vadra had expressed his desire to contest from the Amethi - a stronghold of the Gandhi family. The suspense of his candidature ended when the Congress gave a ticket to KL Sharma. Since then, on and off his name has emerged in the political domain for his entry into formal politics. Though he is not a politician, he remains critical of the Modi government. He, occasionally, came forward to defend his family members - wife Priyanka and brother-in-law Rahul.
(With agency inputs)