On October 5 members of India Against Corruption (IAC) levelled serious charges against Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The two members, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan, both civil society activists, alleged that 43-year-old Vadra had benefited financially from his close links with DLF, one of India’s biggest real estate developers.
In documents released to the media, the two activists claimed that Vadra, a businessman who spent Rs 50 lakh to set up some companies, became hugely successful without much effort. The duo alleged that DLF advanced an interest-free loan of Rs 65 crore to Vadra, who used this money to buy property in several areas at a very cheap rate, often below the market price, which made him a very rich man with a balance of about Rs 500 crore.
According to Kejriwal, who levelled the allegations, the balance sheets of companies owned by Vadra and his mother had a total share capital of Rs 50 lakh in 2007. “Although they had no legitimate business activity between 2007 and 2010, they acquired properties worth over Rs 300 crore during the period.” The unsecured, interest-free loan offered by DLF helped Vadra.
The activists said that since the Congress Party was in power in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, Vadra had received undue favour in any real estate activity he pursued in those states. The common inference is that Vadra received such favours by virtue of having married into the Nehru-Gandhi family. Kejriwal also alleged that the Corporation Bank, a public sector bank, had issued an overdraft (allowing a customer to draw funds from his account even if the account did not have the requisite amount in the balance column) to Vadra.
Both Vadra and DLF have issued statements rebutting the allegations, with Vadra saying ‘the allegations are utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory.’ DLF too issued a statement a day after the allegations created a buzz. “We would like to state that the business relationship of DLF with Mr Robert Vadra or his companies has been in his capacity as an individual entrepreneur, on a completely transparent and at an arm’s length basis,” DLF said in the statement. “Our business relationship has been conducted to the highest standards of ethics and transparency, as has been our business practices, all around.”
Corporation Bank has likewise denied extending the overdraft facility as stated by Kejriwal.
Political Storm
Senior Congress leaders immediately refuted the allegation of an unholy alliance between Vadra and DLF. Union Minister P Chidambaram initially reacted to the allegations saying the business agreements were between two private parties. Other party leaders said they would teach Kejriwal a lesson and sue him in court.
However, Opposition parties like the BJP have said that since DLF was involved in extending a loan, the allegations cannot be termed ‘private’ and called for a probe into the entire affair. “The manner in which senior ministers of the government have jumped to defend the indefensible commercial transactions of a member of the Congress party’s first family indicates that the current controversy is being utilised to display loyalty rather than for enforcing probity,” leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.
The political pot bubbled over when Vadra took to social networking sites and made unsavoury remarks, alluding to the “mango people in a banana republic”. Realising that it was not the most politically correct statement to have made, Vadra subsequently closed his Facebook account.
Where Does the Impropriety Lie?
The root of the problem lies in the fact that while Vadra may have merely expanded his business aggressively, DLF, a public limited company in which ordinary people hold shares, is answerable for its actions, especially ones which seem to hint at preferential treatment to an individual or a company.
Public Interest Litigation
Following the allegations, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by Nutan Thakkur, who has asked the court to direct the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to probe the allegations levelled by Kejriwal and Bhushan. Thakur’s stand is that Vadra’s denial had not explained how a company’s net worth grew to Rs 500 crore from an initial investment of just Rs 50 lakh in such a short span of time. “It is imperative for the Central government to inquire into these serious allegations through the Incometax department, Enforcement Directorate or appropriate authorities it deems fit,” the PIL said. Admitting the PIL, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has sought the PMO’s view on probing the allegations levelled against Vadra, and has given it three weeks’ time to respond.
Who is Robert Vadra ?
Robert Vadra shot to the limelight when reports emerged that he was to marry Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the present Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi.
Vadra hails from a family of small businessmen. His grandfather migrated from Sialkot in Pakistan during the time of Partition.
Vadra and Priyanka were married in 1997. Vadra’s father Rajender was reportedly against the alliance.
In 2001, Vadra issued a public statement saying people should not let themselves be duped by his father Rajender and brother Richard if they promised to get people jobs in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
Priyanka has always maintained that Vadra is not interested in entering politics, and that he is not looking at a career change.
At the time of Vadra’s marriage to Priyanka he had established only one business, that of Artex. It dealt primarily in handicrafts and fashion accessories. Within 10 years Vadra’s wheels of fortune appear to have turned.
By the end of 2007 Vadra had started five other businesses, becoming very active in the real estate, hospitality and trade services sectors.
At that time the capital of these companies was a modest Rs 50 lakh. By 2010, his rise was meteoric. A leading English daily has tracked the balance sheets of the companies floated by Vadra . The report says the performance of the companies — Sky Light Hospitality, Sky Light Realty, Blue Breeze Trading, Artex, Real Earth Estates and North India IT Parks — “raises hard questions about what business it is they actually do, and how this business is conducted.”
No one can deny that the extraordinary growth of Vadra’s companies is nothing short of a ‘miracle’.
What Happens Next?
Legal experts are of the opinion that since Vadra is a private individual, and not a public figure or a politician, he cannot be booked for corruption, unless there is clear proof that it was a quid pro quo arrangement.
According to media reports, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government could not look into private transactions unless there were specific allegations of corruption. “...unless there is a specific allegation of quid pro quo or corruption, I am afraid private transactions cannot and ought not to be allowed to be questioned on the basis of imputations and insinuations,” Chidambaram said.
Experts also say that the allegations against DLF may not stick since these have come from aspiring politicians — both Kejriwal, who played a key role in Anna Hazare’s peaceful movement on Lokpal bill issue last year, and Prashant Bhushan have said they have plans to enter politics . Their party name is expected to be made public soon.
Will this pass off as yet another scam among the many clouding the political scenario of India or will there be a transparent probe to bring out the truth? It remains to be seen.
