The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP of “peddling lies” to victimise Robert Vadra and target the Congress leadership, and said the Modi government has lost its sense of balance as it is rattled by the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the BJP has made a “self goal” by levelling “fake” allegations against the party’s government in Rajasthan and Vadra who, he added, is a victim of fraud instead.
He said the allegations are being made in order to distract attention from issues such as inflation, unemployment, unequal distribution of wealth and politics of hate.
The BJP on Tuesday dubbed the Gandhi family as “kattar paapi parivaar” and the “most corrupt family in Indian politics” as it cited the Rajasthan High Court’s rejection of Robert Vadra’s plea to quash a money laundering probe against him.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should break their “silence” on corruption and money-laundering allegations against Vadra, who is married to Rahul’s sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, when their party was in power in Haryana and Rajasthan and at the Centre as well.
Hitting back, Surjewala told a press conference, “The BJP is making false allegations against the Congress government in Rajasthan and Robert Vadra, as he has not been named in any of the FIRs on the Bikaner land deal case and the government has not been able to prove any of the charges against him for the last eight years of being in power.” “The Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and the Modi government are using the name of Robert Vadra to make allegations against the Congress leadership and hit out at them. Whenever they make such self goals they get caught,” he also said.
The Congress leader claimed the land of Mahajan Firing Range in Bikaner district was allotted in 2007 by then BJP government to two fictitious persons – Hari Ram and Natharam – who sold it to two others – Rajender Kumar and Kishore Singh – through a registered land deed. Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality purchased the land from them three years later on January 4, 2010.
Surjewala also claimed that Vadra’s company has moved court against the fraud and he is not named in any of the FIRs in the land deal.
“The unprecedented response and support of the sea of humanity surging & joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Delhi has deeply frustrated and unnerved the BJP leadership. Peeved by the insurmountable love and support for Rahul Gandhi and the issues raised by him, the Modi government and the BJP have lost all sense of balance and equilibrium,” he said.
Surjewala said the BJP is running helter-skelter to put all kind of spanner and obstacles in the path of Bharat Jodo Yatra – from a malicious disinformation campaign about the yatra and yatris, taking shelter behind the coronavirus pandemic to surreptitiously block the yatra and now to level fake allegations against the Congress government in Rajasthan and Vadra.
He said these are “lame-duck attempts” at defaming the Congress and the yatra.
“These are devious and bogus attempts at fakery and to peddle lies…We reject such foolish and false attempts with the contempt they deserve,” Surjewala said, claiming the BJP charges are nothing but “white lies”.
He said the incontrovertible facts have clearly exposed the fake narratives and news stories being peddled by the BJP in a section of the media out of sheer frustration and exasperation and bitterness.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked whether the BJP would initiate action against then BJP chief minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje Scindia or any other people involved in the illegal allotment of land of a firing range to some people.
He also claimed that the land was not allotted by Congress government but by the BJP government and not an inch of land was allotted to Skylight or to Robert Vadra.
“The victims here are Skylight and Robert Vadra who were duped. The FIR and chargesheet lodged by BJP Government in Rajasthan did not find any role of Skylight or Robert Vadra. The ED has lodged a malicious ECIR only to harass, despite there being no FIR or chargesheet and the High Court has given no adverse finding against Shri Robert Vadra,” he claimed.
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