Vadra land deal jibe: Modi betraying ignorance, says Cong

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi today raked up the issue of Robert Vadra's land deals on the election campaign trail in Haryana, Congress hit back at him claiming that he was betraying his "ignorance" of the matter.

"He (Modi) is the prime minister. He should not be so ignorant or else his people will mislead him," Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said here. He was reacting to Modi's remarks asking the Election Commission to take serious note of a report that the Congress government in Haryana has given clearance to a land deal between party chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Vadra and DLF ahead of Assembly polls in the state.

Ahmed said that the news item which Modi was presumably referring to also suggests that the officers' team which overruled whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka's report cancelling the particular mutation of the land involving Vadra's company had submitted its report on or before July 16, when there was no model code of conduct in force.

"I do not know whether Modi is ignorant or doing it knowingly. How will EC take note of it when the model code came into force on Sept. 12, when the election dates were announced," said Ahmed, the party's in-charge for Haryana affairs.

At an election rally in poll-bound Haryana today, Modi said, "They (Haryana government) know that after the elections, the son-in-law (Vadra) will not get any clearances for illegal deals. So, in between the election process, they have dared to take such a decision."

"I think Hooda was pressurised from the top (Congress leadership) to take such a decision... I hope EC will take appropriate action for any violation of the model code," Modi had said.

Ahmed, meanwhile, also alleged that the prime minister was giving erroneous figures about Haryana's position among developed states of the country. "He is telling lies. It is unfortunate that the prime minister of the country is telling lies," he said.