Cong defends Vadra because he is related to Sonia

The Congress did not mince words on why it was defending Robert Vadra, who is embroiled in a controversy over land deals in Haryana.

“He is related to the Congress president, that’s about it,” AICC spokesman Ajoy Kumar bluntly told reporters when asked why the party was defending a “private citizen”.

When faced with a volley of questions at the AICC briefing on Monday, Kumar said, “The premise on which we answer the questions is because they are related to the government we ran in Haryana.”

Top Congress leadership had rushed to defend Vadra after he was sucked into a controversy over his mistreatment of a journalist who sought his reaction on his land deals.
The BJP on Monday continued its attack on Vadra and Congress. “It is time  we make him realise that India is no more a banana republic which was ruled by the first family of the Congress,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had said on Sunday.

The Congress had invoked the Supreme Court observations on Right to Privacy of a person who does not hold any public office while defending Vadra’s outburst on Saturday night. Senior Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Ambika Soni have also defended Vadra.
Privately, a section of Congress leaders admitted that Vadra’s controversial land deals could be termed as “amoral but not illegal”.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, when he was BJP president, had invoked  a similar stand to defend Karnataka strongman B S Yeddyurappa who was facing allegations of corruption.