New Delhi: The day her husband Robert Vadra was questioned by the ED in a money laundering case, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took charge as AICC general secretary in-charge of UP. The BJP, meanwhile, targeted Priyanka Gandhi by going on an offensive against her husband Robert Vadra, alleging he got “kickbacks” from petroleum and defence deals during the UPA regime.
Priyanka on Wednesday took charge as AICC general secretary and will helm the party’s affairs in Uttar Pradesh East. She assumed charge after dropping her husband Robert Vadra at the ED office. She then met party workers.
Ms Priyanka was appointed as general secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh east on January 23 by her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Her office is adjacent to the room of her brother at the party headquarters at Akbar Road. She will attend her first official meeting on Thursday.
Mr Rahul has convened the meeting of all general secretaries and in-charges of various states to plan the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections.
In an attack seemingly aimed at Ms Priyanka, the BJP targeted Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra after the ED quizzed him connection with a money laundering probe, alleging he got “kickbacks” from petroleum and defence deals during the UPA regime. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that Vadra “bought eight to nine properties in London” from the money he got as kickbacks in 2008-09 when the UPA was in power.
Mr Patra said he would like to ask Vadra “what is the formula of becoming crorepati from roadpati?” Alleging that “corruption” has been the “core agenda” of the Congress party, Mr Patra said, “Everybody knows every member of the family is out on bail.” “The 2019 Lok Sabha election is a fight between the gang of corrupt versus transparency of Narendra Modi government,” he said.
Quoting an e-mail trail, he alleged that Vadra’s company received “kickbacks” from a series of companies floated to “turn black money into white”.Mr Patra alleged that the “kickbacks received from petroleum deal” went to the account of a company linked to Vadra and that he did round-tripping of money through various ways. Similarly, the BJP spokesperson alleged, another company used to get kickbacks in defence deals during the UPA regime, which eventually went to Vadra.
Vadra was directed by a Delhi court to cooperate with the probe being carried out by the central probe agency after he knocked on its door seeking anticipatory bail in this case. A Delhi court last week granted interim bail to him till February 16 and asked him to join probe by appearing in person on February 6 in this case.
