Vadra slams govt for harassing his mother, reaches Jaipur ED office with her

Jaipur: The husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, and an accused in Bikaner land case, Robert Vadra reached the Jaipur office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Tuesday morning, along with his mother Maureen Vadra, for questioning into the alleged land scam in Rajasthan. Priyanka Gandhi came to drop them to the ED’s Jaipur office.

Before leaving for Jaipur, Robert Vadra accused Centre for "harassing a senior citizen," his mother Maureen Vadra.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Vadra also questioned why the "vindictive government" did not act in the past four years and 8 months and why he was called before the campaigning commenced for the Lok Sabha elections.

Vadra said, "So here we are my 75-year-old mother n me in Jaipur to depose in front of the Enforcement Directorate. Not understanding the lows of this vindictive government to be harassing a senior citizen, who the world knows has lost her daughter in a car crash, her ailing son to diabetes, and her husband as well. Three deaths n all I did was to ask her to spend time with me in my office, so I can look after her and we both could grieve on our losses while spending time together. Now she is being accused, maligned and called to be interrogated, for spending time in my office."

"Since I have already been interrogated for 3 days in Delhi’ headquarters, of the Enforcement Directorate. If there was any issue or any illegality, which was found by the government, why did it take them 4 years n 8 months, to call me a month before campaigning begins for the General elections? Do they think people in India do not view it as an election gimmick ?! As I always have adhered to rules and overall being a disciplined person," Vadra wrote on Facebook account.

This is Vadra’s fourth appearance before the agency and first in Jaipur. On the last three occasions, he appeared before ED in Delhi in connection with a money laundering probe against him for his alleged role in procuring assets abroad.

Senior ED officials are said to have prepared a set of 55 questions for Vadra in the alleged land scam case. The interrogation is scheduled after Rajasthan High Court's January 21 order, which directed the partners of Sky Light Hospitality Company to appear before ED on February 12.

Robert Vadra and his mother Maureen are partners in the company. The high court, however, restrained the agency from arresting Robert Vadra and Maureen.

The case relates to an alleged 275-acre land scam in the Kolayat sub-division of Bikaner district. The ED had registered a criminal case in connection with the deal in 2015, taking cognisance of a clutch of FIRs and charge sheets filed by Rajasthan police after the tehsildar of Bikaner complained about alleged forgery in the allotment of land in the area, considered sensitive due to its proximity to the India-Pakistan border.