Robert Vadra’s land deals sleaze catching up with Priyanka Gandhi spells doom for Congress
A highly unflattering report tracing the Gandhi son-in-law Robert Vadra murky land deals in Haryana has now sullied the reputation of even Priyanka Gandhi, who is the last bastion of hope for the Congress party’s political future.
The Economic Times reported that Vadra made “unlawful profits of Rs 50.5 crore from a land deal in Haryana in 2008 without spending a single paisa”, according to the conclusions of the Justice SN Dhingra Commission that has been looking at Vadra’s allegedly unscrupulous land deals in the state.
However, the biggest taint it seems has come to Priyanka Gandhi’s reputation as the report has also claimed that the Gandhi daughter’s purchase of a piece of land in Amipur village in Faridabad district, Haryana, in February 2010 has come under the scanner of the Dhingra Commission.
Of course, frantic denial has been issued by Priyanka Gandhi in an official statement, saying that her own land purchases have nothing to do with Robert Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality, and that the plot was bought six years before the “purported” Skylight deal.
Please read for statement from Ms.Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pic.twitter.com/HeSypaFE1v
— Preeti Sahai (@sahai_preeti) April 27, 2017
Dhingra Commission report "leaked"?
It must be mentioned here that the Justice Dhingra commission was set by the ML Khattar government in Haryana in May 2015 to look into the allegedly sleazy land deals between Robert Vadra and other parties, including the DLF group.
Grant of licences for change in land use in four villages of Gurgaon, including the licence granted to the Vadra-owned Skylight Hospitality, have invited scrutiny from legal experts.
The Economic Times report says that sources who are familiar with the Dhingra Commission’s report have said that it has concluded that Vadra had unduly benefitted from the land deals.
However, Vadra’s lawyers, particularly Suman Khaitan, have said that no laws were broken and the payments, including income taxes, were made in full and according to the market price.
The Justice Dhingra Commission report, which was submitted to the Haryana state government on August 31, 2017, has now been passed on to the Supreme Court by the state government in a sealed envelope.
By the “leaked” reports that are doing the rounds, Vadra abused his VVIP status and indulged in shady profiteering by buying government lands for virtually no cost and sold them at a massive premium.
Obviously, the Haryana government at the time was led by Congress’ Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and the two-time former CM has challenged the “constitutional validity” of the Dhingra Commission.
Priyanka Gandhi in a spot
The desperate denial issued by Priyanka Gandhi and her attempt to come clean on her properties, denying links with husband Vadra’s allegedly questionable finances, nevertheless point towards a worse time to come for the Gandhi family.
Priyanka, in her official statement, has said that the agricultural land bought by her in Haryana’s Faridabad district, and other properties purchased by her, have absolutely no connection with either Skylight Hospitality or to realty major DLF.
Priyanka has claimed that the land was purchased for Rs 15 lakh by cheque and funds for the purchase were generated from income through the property she has inherited from her grandmother, former prime minister, the late Indira Gandhi.
Details of the statement and Priyanka’s assertion that this is a deliberate smear campaign against her to besmirch and destroy her reputation, means that the Gandhi daughter is on the backfoot.
Gandhi has said:
“Any allegations made by the Economic Times in this purported article and/or any headline which besmirches the reputation of Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will appear to be based upon certain questionable documents and represent a deliberate, politically motivated and malicious campaign to besmirch and destroy her reputation. They will be entirely false, utterly baseless and defamatory.”
It is obvious by the tone of the statement that feathers have been ruffled and the taint has now reached the Gandhi family member herself.
Even though the “leak” of the Dhingra report could be called into question, if there are alleged aberrations in Gandhi’s purchases, then the ghost of corruption is going to weigh the family down even further.
In any case, whatever be the conclusions of the National Herald case, the perception battle has been squandered by the Gandhis.
Moreover, though former Haryana CM Hooda has claimed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the Justice Dhingra Commission report has been leaked by the current BJP government in the state, he has now withdrawn the application.
Though Hooda (and thereby, by logical extrapolation, the Gandhis?) had petitioned that the “English business daily” should be restrained from publishing contents of the Dhingra report, he hasn’t been successful at doing that, evidently.
Losing out politically
The Vadra land deals and the investigation into them have seriously impacted the Congress’ political fortunes by directly besmirching the Gandhis.
Whether or not this is “political vendetta”, the fact that there are way too many skeletons in the Gandhi closet means a political revival at the moment almost seems impossible.
The string of political defeats that the Congress has faced of late, including the recent MCD polls in Delhi, has shown how intellectually, politically and electorally bankrupt Congress has become.
The reinvention of the Congress party cannot be achieved if proverbial albatrosses which these corruption allegations amount to, keep hanging around the Gandhi family members’ necks.
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