Political Diary
New
Delhi, 12 February 2019
Tale
of Two Sons In-Law
VADRA:
BREAKING OMERTA CODE
By
Poonam I Kaushish
This is the tale of two sons in law, Feroze
Gandhi and Robert Vadra. The first, a
bête noir of his father-in law India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru. The latter, has become the Achilles
Heel of his brother-in-law and wife, Nehru’s great grandson and great
granddaughter and Feroz’s grandson and granddaughter Congress President Rahul
Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Vadra.
While Gandhi exposed corruption in independent India's first Congress
Government, Vadra has become the focus of alleged sleazy tales.
Recall, Feroze who married Nehru’s daughter
and ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1942 is best remembered for spotlighting
dishonesty in his father-in-law’s Government. Elected to Parliament in 1952,
his exposure of la affaire Mundhra in
1957 wherein the LIC invested Rs. 1.24 crores in fraudulent shares of the
industrialist company led to the resignation of then Finance Minister T.T.
Krishnamachari, causing Nehru major embarrassment. The Justice MC Chagla
Commission later sentenced Mundhra to 22 years in prison. Feroze also was the
primary force behind industrialist Ram Kishan Dalmia’s imprisonment for
defrauding his life insurance company in 1956.
Unlike Feroze, Robert
Vadra, an ordinary boy from Moradabad was a small-time costume jewllery exporter
till he hit headlines by marrying former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia’s
daughter and Rahul’s sister Priyanka in 1997. But controversy began to follow
him for all the wrong reasons when India Against Corruption (IAC) founder
Arvind Kejriwal exposed his alleged “dirty linen” in 2012. It accused the country’s and Congress first ‘jawairaja’ of receiving undue favours
and wealth from India’s biggest realty firm Delhi-based DLF. And asked Vadra to
clarify how his wealth jumped from Rs 50 lakh in 2007 to Rs 300 crore in 2012?
Again
Vadra along-with ex-Haryana Chief Minister Hooda was accused in a land deal
involving DLF in Gurgaon. An FIR filed against them claims his Sky Light
Hospitality purchased 3.5 acres of land in Sector 83 and sold it at a huge
profit after obtaining a licence with Hooda’s help to develop it commercially.
In return for helping Vadra, Hooda is accused of allotting 350 acres to DLF in
violation of the law.
Complicating matters, the Enforcement
Directorate accused Vadra of money laundering regarding possession of illegal foreign
assets including two high-end properties and six flats in London worth
12 million pounds bought between 2005-10 from kickbacks in defence and
petroleum deals during UPA1 Government. The BJP has joined the encore and is
leaving no stone unturned to paint the ‘Congress jawairaja’ corrupt.
Vadra
is also being investigated for acquiring 275 bigha land in Rajasthan’s Bikaner through his company, Sky Light
Hospitality, allegedly in violation of rules. The Enforcement Directorate
registered a case in 2015 after the Rajasthan police filed a chargesheet
alleging forgery in the land allotment.
Now,
with Priyanka entering the political arena as Congress General Secretary
Vadra’s dubious deals seem to have gathered steam despite him being under
investigation for some years post the Dhingra committee report on his links
with the DLF. Undeniably, he is the Damocles’ sword over her head.
Predictably, Priyanka, like a pati-vratha wife underscored, “I stand
by my family”, as the Enforcement
Directorate subjected Vadra to over 15 hours of questioning over two days last
week on his links with an arms dealer and money laundering.
Besides, if she and the Congress hoped to
milk this politically, it fell flat as Vadra’s visit to the Enforcement
Directorate has not stirred a leaf despite the Congress and Priyanka no longer
playing defensive, instead they are accusing the BJP of “witch hunt and
political vendetta.” It’s another matter that the Party has changed its earlier
stance of “Vadra is a private citizen.”
Undoubtedly,
the Congress is caught between a rock and hard place. If it tries to portray
Vadra as BJP’s political revenge it could fall flat as he per se does not strike a chord, primarily, as in public perception,
he does not belong to the “Gandhi-Congress parivar.” Unlike Feroze his surname is different.
Alongside,
if the BJP succeeds in tom-toms him as yet another flunkey of Congress
corruption it could damage the already slim chances the Party has in UP which
accounts for 80 Lok Sabha seats. At such
a critical time, the baggage of Vadra can sink the Congress.
Presently,
both BJP and Congress are weighing their options. While BJP feels Priyanka's appointment has brought the
Vadra corruption scandals onto the "centre-stage", which could
benefit the Party. Others, however, state it could backfire if not handled
sagaciously. Some aver the Party should observe the code of Omerta and
let the law enforcement agencies take action. Not a few are puzzled why the Modi Government
failed to act against Vadra earlier.
The Congress is waiting to see how this plays
out. Senior Congress leaders worry whether flamboyant Vadra would remain in the
background or start making public statements. Given that times out of number in the past he has made
plain his political ambitions of
fighting elections. It is a matter of time that India’s most
controversial realtor with a questionable reputation makes his debut. However in the high-stakes power game he will
face intense heat.
Consequently, with battle lines drawn in the
forthcoming polls it remains
to be seen how the Vadra scandal affects the Congress and Priyanka’s electoral
chances in the event she decides to contest from family borough Rae Bariely or
against NaMo. Either which way, both will have to deftly deal with their acidic
baiters as there is no turning back.
True, the cynics shrug off the hue and cry
over Vadra. “It will die down in a few days once a new scandal erupts, remember
public memory is short,” said a seasoned leader. Some feel the Congress has shot itself in the
foot. Instead of leaders competing with each other to defend him, Vadra should
have been left to defend his case. That way, whatever the outcome, the Party
would have kept itself out of any embarrassment.
The moot point is not
only whether Vadra has done any wrong but it has brought three important issues
to the fore. One, if Vadra is a “private citizen” why is the Congress defending
him? And so clumsily? Two, is it because he could open the Pandora’s Box of
Gandhi family secrets? Three, it exposes the hypocrisy of “political maryada”, the unwritten code of honour
among our netagan not to rake up
crimes of omission and commission of their rivals families.
Mum is the word from
the BJP when it comes to corrupt acts of its Partymen and foes-turned-friends.
Example, West Bengal’s Shardha scam accused who have recently joined the Sangh
have been given a clean chit. All adhering to a “live-and-let-live” policy for
fear of mutual destruction. Sic.
What next? Will the
Vadra case be a political game changer for the Congress? Is it a gamble BJP
will regret? Many are confident that the case once again highlights corruption
in high place wherein the aam aadmi
realizes that ghooskhori has
morphised from behind closed doors to open loot. One hopes Probity does not
become the oxymoron to the Indian Politicians. ---- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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