Truth will prevail, says Robert Vadra as he faces ED questioning

by IANS |

New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Businessman Robert Vadra on Wednesday accused the government of stopping him from “doing good work and speaking about their unjust behaviour towards minorities”.

He said this a day after being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a Gurugram land deal case. As per sources, he will again be questioned by the ED on Wednesday.

Vadra has said that he is innocent and that 'truth will prevail.'

In a Facebook post, Vadra said that his birthday week seva had been hampered by the ED summoning him.

“My Birthday Week Seva has been paused for a few days. Plans I have made for feeding the elderly and gifts for all the children in different areas will be continued as soon as I get over the “Government’s ways of stopping Me”, from doing good and speaking about their unjust behavior towards minorities, or if there are even wishes and talks of me being in politics,” wrote Vadra.

He said that nothing was going to deter him from fulfilling people’s wishes and needs.

“I’m here for any kind of unjust pressure. I believe in the truth, and truth will prevail,” he said in the post.

On Tuesday, Vadra, husband of Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, marched to the ED office from his residence here and said it was a "political vendetta" and he had nothing to hide.

He had been served a fresh summons in connection with its ongoing probe into a land deal case in Gurugram, Haryana.

The 56-year-old businessman, who is the brother-in-law of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as per reports.

The case pertains to a land purchase in February 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore by Vadra's Skylight Hospitality in Shikohpur in Haryana's Gurugram district. The mutation process, which usually takes months, was done the next day. Months later, he received a permit to develop a housing society on the land, and the value of the plot increased. He sold it to DLF in June at Rs 58 crore.

Suspecting the proceeds to be part of a money laundering scheme, the ED has been probing the trail behind the windfall gains. The deals were made when Congress was at the helm in the state, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief minister.

He was earlier asked to appear before the agency on April 8 in this case, but he did not depose.

Vadra had earlier been questioned by the ED in another money laundering case.

On Monday, Vadra welcomed the arrest of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi and described it as a significant moment for the nation. He also emphasised the importance of the recovery of misappropriated funds from the fugitive businessman and compensating individuals who suffered because of the huge Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

While speaking to IANS, he said, "This is very good news for everyone. If somebody has done wrong, he must be nabbed and brought to book."