Vadra land deals hot poll issue

Land deals involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra which triggered another round of political spat on Tuesday is becoming a hot issue for the October 15 Assembly polls in Haryana.  

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew the Election Commission’s attention to the Haryana government giving nod to a real estate agreement in favour of Vadra, the Congress said that the state cleared it much before the model code of conduct came into force mid last month.

The BJP, however, on Tuesday backed Modi charging that the fresh Vadra-DLF deal in Gurgaon was Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s “parting gift” to the Gandhi family.

The slanging match began with Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed accusing Modi of being a “habitual liar” and said that he was now playing his trick again to misguide voters. 

“How can it be a case for the violation of model code of conduct when land deal of Vadra was cleared in July and the model code of conduct came into force on September 12... It is matter of regret that the prime minister of the country has stooped to such a level for small political gains. The Congress will never do that,” he said.

The BJP on Tuesday called a press conference just to mount more firepower. “We see it as a parting gift to the Gandhi family before the Haryana government of Congress loses it out,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

Though the BJP has been raking up Vadra land deals for more than a year, it has not initiated inquiry despite coming to power at the Centre. Even in Rajasthan, despite BJP’s Vasundhara Raje becoming the chief minister, no probe has been initiated against Vadra who the saffron party said also acquired controversial land in the state. 

When asked to comment on the Centre’s reluctance to take action, Patra said that law will take its own course.

Pointing out to the “complicity” of the Congress government, Patra alleged that Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner issued orders on July 16 terming “illegal, void and without any jurisdiction” some instructions of higher appealing authority — Director General Consolidation.

The DG Consolidation had cancelled the mutation of the land for which Priyanka Gandhi’s husband had struck a deal with DLF. Vadra’s deals with DLF had created an uproar last year.