ED questions Vadra for six hours
SUMMONS Questioned for the first time in any of the probes initiated against him; Cong calls it a witch-hunt by NDA
NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said she stood by her husband Robert Vadra, as she dropped him off at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering case. “He is my husband, he is my family...i support my family,” Priyanka Gandhi said when asked whether she was sending a message by dropping off her husband. “Everyone knows why this is being done,” PTI reported her as saying.
Her comment (and the dropoff) came hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeted Vadra, challenging Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi’s brother, to explain how a “road-pati” became a “crorepati”.
The Congress has maintained that the cases against Vadra are part of a political witch-hunt by the Bjp-led Union government.
Priyanka Gandhi has taken charge as general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh (East). This is the first organisational position she has held in the Congress.
Wednesday marked the first time Vadra has been questioned in any of the probes initiated against him under the Narendra Modi regime. He remained in the ED office for over six hours, during which investigators recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.
“Following a review of the answers given by Vadra, we will take a call whether to ask to him to come for another round of questioning,” said a senior ED official on condition of anonymity. He will be questioned again on Thursday from 10.30am. He is expected to appear before ED officers in Rajasthan in connection with another probe on February 12.
Vadra’s lawyer Suman Jyoti Khaitan said his client appeared on his own and has cooperated with investigators. “Whatever questions were put to him, he answered all of them. This is a politically motivated case and Vadra has always denied all the charges,” he said.
Khaitan refused to go into the specifics of questioning but said: ““He will appear before ED if called again. Whenever the ED will call him, he will appear.”
ED has alleged that Vadra is the controlling beneficiary of a property in London located at 12, Bryanston Square there. The property is worth GBP 1.9 million. It was sold by an alleged arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who is on the run now.
ED had a prepared a questionnaire for Robert Vadra which contained questions about his links with the Londonbased property and Sanjay Bhadari. ED also wanted to quiz him about a property at Delhi’s Malcha Marg which was owned by a trust.
Later, an associate of Vadra, Jagdish Sharma became convener of the trust.
Sharma, too, was present outside the ED office when Vadra’s questioning began. He denied all allegations.
ED carried out raids in the PMLA case in December and questioned Vadra’s aide Manoj Arora.
“Vadra appeared before the ED after being directed by a Delhi court to cooperate with the investigation. There have been allegations about his alleged involvement in a petroleum deal in 2009 too. We want to seek clarity on this too,” added the ED official.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that Vadra got kickbacks from a petroleum deal in 2009 during the UPA’S first term and also received a huge sum from a defence deal. “Gone are those days when Vadra possessed only one property in London, reports say he has eight properties in London,” he claimed.
Vadra sought protection from the arrest from the court on which the court granted interim bail till February 16. In his plea, Vadra alleged that a malicious criminal prosecution has been launched against him which is politically motivated.
Political commentator and former IAS officer Afzal Amanullah said Priyanka accompanying her husband to the ED office gave a larger signal that the party was solidly behind him.
“And if a wife drops off her husband at the ED office there can’t be any space for criticism. It is also significant as opposition parties have often alleged the NDA is using agencies to settle scores with political opponents,” he said.