The latest allegations against Robert Vadra — that he used to own a residence in the U.K. under a false name and his purported connections with arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari — has seen not just the Congress but also mother-in-law Sonia Gandhi spring to his defence.
Despite a certain degree of discomfort with the charges against Mr. Vadra, the Congress has closed ranks on the issue, taking its cue from Ms. Gandhi — that the targeting of Mr. Vadra is actually an attempt to embarrass and further weaken the Nehru-Gandhi family, the glue that holds the country’s oldest political party together.
On Tuesday, when the BJP accused Mr. Vadra of purchasing a benami property in London, Ms. Gandhi — who was on a visit to her constituency, Rae Bareli — responded to journalists, daring the government, “ Kabhi aisa nahi dekha...ek pradhan mantri hain..shahenshah nahi . (He is a PM, not an emperor.) Roz...roz ye Congress-mukt Bharat ke liye naya mudda uthate hain. Roz galat iljaam lagate hain. Agar kuch galat hai to bina bhed bhaav jaanch karo. Doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani karo.” [The government raises a new issue or allegation everyday in its bid for a ‘Congress-free India’. If anything is wrong, let there be an impartial probe. Let everyone know the truth].
Misinformation: Singhvi Ms. Gandhi’s sharp response was preceded by party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s rebuttal of an NDTV report on the issue. “We have received a preliminary email reply from Mr. Vadra that none of it is true. He has received no notice contrary to the report from the ED or IT regarding this issue. This is based on misinformation… the dirty tricks department of the government believes in opportunistic and selective leaks. We condemn such attempts by the government,” he said.
On Wednesday, a senior party functionary took the “leaks” argument a step further, stressing that the BJP, unable to fix the economy, was repeatedly targeting the Gandhi family — first in the National Herald case, then in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopters case and now Mr. Vadra’s benami property case. He pointed out that in every case, the Modi government made only allegations but never followed it up, thus creating doubts in the minds of the people about the honesty of the Gandhis.
To a question whether Ms. Gandhi should have responded to a question about someone who may be her son-in-law but was not a member of the Congress, another senior leader said, “Of course she should. She knows that the real target is her and Rahul Gandhi. Besides, she has not defended Robert — she has merely said if there is a case against him, investigate him, and if there is evidence, act against him; don’t just malign him.”
