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IAC chooses poll target, Vadra linked to DLF

The India Against Corruption [IAC] activists-turned-politicians Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan created a political storm on Friday when they accused Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, of being involved in an illegal multi-crore land deals with the real estate major DLF. The allegations immediately put the Congress in an overdrive to defend Vadra. By the late evening, prominent Congress leaders and spokespersons were seen aggressively defending the Gandhi family against corruption charges on in the media.

The IAC activists accused Vadra, and made insinuations at the Gandhi family, of acquiring properties worth hundreds of crores of rupees through his company which did not have adequate capital to make these purchases. They alleged that there could be quid pro quo between DLF and Vadra for favours to the company through the Congress governments at the centre and in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

They alleged that DLF sold vastly under-valued flats to Vadra and in exchange, the Congress-ruled state governments gave land to the company. Some of these land plots were acquired from farmers for public projects, the activists claimed; however, this land was given to DLF and clearances and permissions were given to its projects at lightning speed. The IAC alleged that Vadra had acquired properties in the Congress-ruled states, and in just three years, his empire grew from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 300 crore.

The activists asked, 'Why should DLF give large unsecured interest-free loans to Robert Vadra? Why should DLF sell its properties to Vadra at throwaway prices and on the basis of funds obtained by Vadra from DLF itself, what is the source of these funds and are illicit funds of the Congress party being funnelled into this property buying spree by the son-in-law of the dynasty?'
 
Calling it the 'Robert Vadra scam', Bhushan alleged, 'In the last four years, Robert Vadra has gone on a property-buying binge and has purchased at least 31 properties mostly in and around New Delhi, which even at the time of their purchase were worth several hundred crores [of rupees].'

Predictably, the Congress termed these charges baseless. The Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, 'We have not favoured anyone. We have given the land through international bidding to the highest bidder in a transparent manner.' While the Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said, 'It is wrong to drag a person [into controversy] who is not in politics. He is a businessman, and it is wrong to make these allegations.'
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