My husband is being humiliated: Priyanka defends corruption allegations against Robert Vadra

Rae Bareli: A "pained" Priyanka Gandhi broke her silence on Tuesday over continued "political" attacks on her husband Robert Vadra by BJP but asserted that her determination to fight back will get stronger with attempts to "humiliate" her family further.

She invoked grand mother Indira Gandhi and said she had learnt from her about how to face such situations and emerge stronger in the process.

"When you watch TV, what do you see? Harsh words, humiliation of my family. A lot of things are said about my husband. I feel pained. I feel pained, not for myself, also not because somebody you are humiliating somebody and the truth is not being told, "...everyday I tell my children that the truth will prevail.... I feel pained at the kind of politics that has come to the fore in these elections," she told a gathering here while campaigning for her mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Though she did not name anybody, she was clearly referring to BJP's attack on Vadra over his alleged inappropriate land deals. Some BJP leaders have said Vadra would be "in jail" if NDA comes to power.

Priyanka said her husband was being used to launch a political attack on her family.

"There has been a political attack on my family. They have used my husband for political attack. It has been going on for two years and I feel very strongly about it," she said.

Displaying her courage to take on the attack, she said, "I have learnt from Indiraji that when truth is on your side, when your intent is clear, you will have a shield. The more they try to humiliate, the more will be my determination to fight back, the more they try to work for my downfall, the stronger I will get up."

Simultaneously, Congress pulled out all the stops in his defence and slammed Narendra Modi for levelling "cheap and baseless" allegations against members of the Gandhi family.

Shedding its inhibitions, Congress, which was describing Vadra as a "private individual" till the other day, went hammer and tongs against Modi and BJP for "practising politics of malicious persecution with a revengeful attitude against the Gandhi family".

The spirited defence of Vadra came at the AICC briefing as Priyanka Gandhi broke her silence on the opposition attack to say that she was "pained" that her husband was being targeted for political reasons.

Party spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters that in the last two years, it has been seen that Modi and some leaders of the BJP have been levelling cheap allegations against "different members" of the Gandhi family despite knowing that there is no truth in those allegations.

"They have resorted to politics of malicious persecution with a revengeful attitude aimed at members of the Gandhi family knowing fully well that neither there is any truth in the allegation, nor there is a foundation."

"Modi and his party are now resorting to petty politicking and malicious campaign. People of India have rejected such BJP sponsored allegations in the past against Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and we are sure that people of India will once again reject this petty politicking," he said.

Surjewala said that there was BJP sponsored public interest litigation before the Allahabad High Court in this regard and it was rejected in March 2013 by the court which said that the PIL was filed with a motive.

"Not satisfied with the verdict of the division bench of the High Court, members of Sangh Parivar and friends of Modi sponsored another litigation in the guise of a PIL in the Supreme Court. It was in fact a private interest litigation to help BJP."

"Even in Supreme Court it was rejected, which questioned the motive behind the PIL and observed that it was not a sin to be relative of a particular leader. The matter should have rested after being tested by the highest court of India...," he said.

Surjewala said people of India are not going to fall in this trap again and will give a befitting reply to such divisive forces.