As Robert Vadra faced his third consecutive day of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a sharp offensive against the Gandhi family on Thursday. Priyanka Gandhi’s husband was branded as a “crime master” and a “bhoo-mafia” (land mafia) by the BJP during a press conference.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia blamed consecutive Congress-led governments for facilitating large-scale corruption, with Vadra being the biggest beneficiary. He claimed that the governments had manipulated a dubious land deal that had given Vadra an astronomical 700 per cent return in just four months, referring to him as the country's "jijaji" (brother-in-law).
Emphasizing the Modi administration’s firm stance on corruption, Bhatia declared, “If ‘nakli’ (illegal) Gandhi parivaar has illegally occupied the land of farmers, that will be recovered from them. No one, including the ‘jijaji’, will be spared from facing the law.”
Pinging directly at Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, he continued, "If you turn into bhoo-mafia, you'll have to suffer the law. Crime master and bhoo-mafia, the Priyanka Gandhi's husband, is being questioned like an ordinary man by the ED officers. This is the strength of a clean government, which the people of the nation are witnessing."
He reasserted the government's tough anti-corruption stance, declaring, "There is no tolerance for corruption. Whoever involves himself in graft will be punished and brought to book, sooner or later."
Bhatia also referred to an uncompromising battle against corrupt individuals and practices. He fingered those "with a bogus Gandhi surname" who, in his opinion, think that they are out of reach of Indian law. The most powerful war has been fought against corruption and the corrupt. There are a few who have a phony Gandhi surname who think they are above the law of the country. But, they should be reminded that if you practice corruption, there will be agencies knocking on your door," he warned.
Citing details, Bhatia held Vadra guilty of being intimately involved in false transactions. "Robert Vadra's Skylight Hospitality bought a land tract measuring 3.5 acres for Rs 7.5 crore and made a profit of 700 per cent within 4 months," he said, holding both central and state Congress governments responsible for having supported him while making the transaction.
He also claimed that the Gandhi dynasty has always thought they were above the law, their thinking now being questioned with constant investigations. Refuting allegations of political vendetta behind Vadra's ED questioning, Bhatia asked the question of why courts had not granted him relief if such accusations were valid.
The BJP spokesperson also made a dig at the accusation of Vadra being a "mass leader," stating that whereas this might be true among his loyalists, to ordinary citizens and farmers, he is referred to as a "bhoo-mafia" and corruption symbol.
Reacting to Vadra's alleged remark following his ED appearance — "when times change, they will also have to answer" — Bhatia retorted sharply: "Such character can be only of those of the 'nakli' Gandhi parivar."
Finally, Bhatia called for Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi to end their silence on the issue and come up with a clear explanation about the allegations of Robert Vadra's land deals.
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