In a first, Priyanka Gandhi named in ED's money laundering case chargesheet
Though her husband Robert Vadra too has been named in the chargesheet, but neither of them have been listed as an 'accused'
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been named in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet, for the first time, in connection with the alleged purchase and sale of five acres of land in Haryana.
Though her businessman husband Robert Vadra too has been named in the chargesheet, but neither of them have been listed as an “accused”, sources said. In its statement, ED said, “Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra bought land in Haryana through a Delhi-based real estate agent who also sold land to NRI businessman CC Thampi.”
The ED filed the chargesheet against CC Thampi, an NRI businessman, and Sumit Chadha, a British national of Indian origin. The ED believes they helped fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who is accused of violating the Official Secrets Act, among other laws, hide the proceeds of his crimes.
Transactions under lens
Accused of acting against Opposition leaders following orders from the Union government, the central agency has referred to Priyanka’s transactions with Delhi-based real estate agent HL Pahwa who sold her agricultural land in Faridabad in 2006 and repurchased the same tract after a gap of four years. ED sources also revealed that a house allegedly purchased in her name in Faridabad’s Amipur village in April 2006 sold it back to Pahwa along with the land.
“It is imperative to mention that Robert Vadra also purchased three pieces of land measuring 334 kanals (40.08 acres) in Amipur from [the same] HL Pahwa from 2005-2006 and sold the same land to Pahwa in December 2010. Further, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, wife of Robert Vadra, also purchased agricultural land measuring 40 kanal (5 acres) in village Amipur from Pahwa in April 2006 and sold the same land to Pahwa in February 2010,” the chargesheet said.
The ED had named Vadra, who the agency claims has a “long and thick relationship” with Thampi, in earlier chargesheets. The agency had also questioned Vadra in other cases, but this is the first time the Congress leader’s husband has been named in this particular case.
Congress, AAP flay move
Though Priyanka is yet to react to this development, Congress leaders, including Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole have strongly condemned the BJP government for the move. “BJP is scared of Congress,” said Patole. “The British were scared of Gandhi then and, even today, the central government is scared of the Gandhi family... BJP is trying to divert people from the real issues,” he told news agency ANI.
The Aam Aadmi Party also hit out at the ED for “continuously taking action against Opposition leaders”. AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said, “The law is ‘guilty until proven innocent’ for Opposition and ‘innocent until proven guilty’ for the country...”