New-Delhi, 13th March: The Congress sluiced hands off the controversial property deals of Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, saying it concerns the law-enforcing agencies, the issue derailed parliament on Tuesday with both the houses adjourned without transacting any business.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal made futile attempt twice in the Lok Sabha to reply to the debate for passage of the Railway Budget. Asked to comment on issue of land deals of Vadra surfacing in Haryana and Rajasthan, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary said the matter falls within the jurisdiction of state governments.
The party also rejected opposition demand to discuss the issue in the parliament, saying Vadra was not a politician. “State government and law enforcement agencies concerned will look into it. He (Vadra) is not a politician… He is an individual. Why will Parliament debate this..? How does it qualify to come in Parliament?
Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in the Lok Sabha when the BJP members disrupted the house with placards taunting the finance minister to learn from the “son-in-law” how to earn profits sitting at home to reduce budget deficit.
The Congress members too joined in the ruckus to take on the BJP while issues of the plight of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Italian marines, arrested for killing Indian fishermen, not returning to stand trial also added to pandemonium.
The Centre was to invest in the solar energy while the state government was to provide land for the mission free or at a nominal 10 per cent price, but it wriggled out to force the companies buy land at very high price from Vadra, Meghwal pointed out.
Rajya Sabha MP VP Singh said a probe alone will reveal how Vadra’s companies with equity of Rs5-10 lakhs could buy land worth crores and who gave him money for the purpose if he says he took loan. Also need to be probed is how the land ceiling act was circumvented, he said.
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