The son-in-law of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleged that the issues of EVMs, electoral bonds and pulling in leaders from the opposition parties are forgotten once the elections are over….reports Asian Lite News
Even as the BJP-led NDA remains confident of crossing the 400-mark in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has accused the Centre of creating an atmosphere of fear in the country to fulfill its mission.
“They speak with a lot of confidence (of crossing the 400-mark) despite so many inconsistencies. Be it the EVM issue or pulling leaders from the other parties, people realise that they will cross the 400-mark only if some confusion is created. An atmosphere of fear has been created in the country,” Vadra said.
“If some company is involved in fraudulent appropriation of funds then it should be investigated and penalised by the Income Tax Department and not the Enforcement Directorate. If that happens, then it is difficult for that company to survive,” he added.
The son-in-law of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleged that the issues of EVMs, electoral bonds and pulling in leaders from the opposition parties are forgotten once the elections are over.
“We will continue with our fight against such forces and find ways to tackle them,” said Vadra.
Vadra also spoke about strong rumours of him joining politics and fighting elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. “Not just Amethi, I am getting support from party workers from other constituencies as well, urging me to join active politics,” said Vadra.
Hinting yet again that he is ready to join politics “if people want”, Vadra said that he is getting calls of support from party workers all over the country, including Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
“Not just Amethi, I am getting party workers’ support from all over the country to actively join politics. Yes, I admit that the Amethi bit (of him contesting Lok Sabha polls from the constituency) is getting more prominence because I have campaigned there since 1999. However, my posters have started appearing elsewhere too as people realise and admire the hard work that we have put in so far,” Vadra said.
However, Vadra feels that the time has come for the people of Amethi to rectify the “mistake” they made by electing Smriti Irani five years back.
“They (people of Amethi) feel that if I contest from there, they’ll have the option of correcting their mistake of electing Smritiji. I am sure they will ensure my victory by a huge margin if I contest. However, I will not fight to challenge someone even though Smritiji levelled unsubstantiated allegations against me in the past,” Vadra said.
The 55-year-old businessman from Moradabad also said that he would come out in full support if Rahul Gandhi decides to contest the elections from Amethi.
“If Rahul thinks that he should also fight from Amethi after Wayanad, I will fully support him and be with him during his campaigns. Also, I don’t need to be in active politics to interact with the people. They know they can always meet me in case Rahul or Priyanka are not available,” he said.
Vadra said that Congress is a secular party which treats all religions with equal respect.
When questioned on Congress declining an invite for the Ram Mandir’s Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya held on January 22, he dodged a direct answer and attributed it to the party’s penchant for staying away from religion-based politics.
“Congress always stays away from religion-based politics. It doesn’t want to see divisions in the country on religious lines,” Vadra said.
Incidentally, Vadra’s statement is in strong contrast to Congress’ official stand on the Ram Mandir Ptan Pratishtha ceremony, as the party didn’t shy away from calling it an ‘event sponsored by RSS-BJP’.
The Congress, while turning down the invite for the Pran Pratishtha of the ‘incomplete’ temple on January 22, called it a ploy by the BJP to garner political points.
Though Vadra remains a private individual without any political affiliation, his close family ties with the country’s first political family make him a de-facto sponsor of Congress ideology.
He also said that the Almighty is someone whom we all believe and confide in at times of hardship, irrespective of our religion. Vadra also evaded a direct reply on charges of Muslim League’s imprint on Congress’ manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Claiming that unnecessary fuss is being created over the Congress manifesto, he said there is a need to focus on developmental and other people-centric issues rather than trading baseless charges at the rival party’s poll document.
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