India
BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said at a rally in Nagaur of Rajasthan that Robert Vadra, Congress president’s brother-in-law, was the actual recipient of a loan of Rs 1,000 crore that a company called Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd
Nagaur/New Delhi: If BJP president Amit Shah is in Rajasthan, can the issue of Robert Vadra be far behind? On Friday as Amit Shah addressed a huge crowd in Nagaur of Rajasthan, 'damad' occupied the centre stage. The BJP has raked up the alleged corrupt acts of Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, once again ahead of the Rajasthan election.
Shah said, "Rahul baba (Gandhi) has been raising the issue of NPA (non-performing assets). He is making NPA an (electoral) issue. Oh, Rahul baba (Gandhi)! All NPAs happened because of corruption and misdeeds during your tenure (in the government). There's not a single NPA where loans have been given under Narendra Modi as PM."
BJP President Amit Shah in Nagaur: Today the front page of Indian Express says that a company got a loan of thousands of crores&its commission reached Nehru family’s son-in-law with which he bought 150 hectares of land. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi if he can answer now. pic.twitter.com/VcV1vUABd5
— ANI (@ANI)Shah escalated the attack by saying, "Today there's a story in the front page of The Indian Express, which talks of a big company getting loans of thousand crores. Thousand crores. And where did the commission for this go?"
Shah, citing the news report, alleged Vadra has been the recipient of the commission. “Uske damad ke pas pahuncha, (It reached his brother-in-law),” said Shah animatedly to a cheering crowd.
If an election can be equated with the game of cricket, Amit Shah batted on the front foot in Nagaur on Friday. Shah charged, “One man delivered the commission to the brother-in-law of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. And what did he do of it? He bought 150 hectares of land in Bikaner at a throwaway price and sold it off at an exorbitant rate". This matter has been under investigation for quite some time.
The news report Shah was mentioning talks about how Vadra sold his land to Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd and how Bhushan Power & Steel gave unsecured loans to the same Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd to buy land from Vadra.
This new expose has the potential to change the political discourse against the Congress in the state of Rajasthan that will go to polls on November 7.
Shah asked, “I want to ask the Congress president if he will reply to the news report of The Indian Express.”
Several mainstream media houses have reported in the past that Bhushan Power and Steel Limited had allegedly given a loan to a company that bought land owned by Vadra’s firm at seven times its acquisition cost.
The Indian Express story Shah referred to reads: "In 2011-12, BPSL gave a loan of Rs 5.64 crore to Delhi-based Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd. Allegeny, as per its records, used the money to buy land in Bikaner from Vadra-owned Sky Light Hospitality. Incidentally, around the same time in December 2011, the Settlement Commission passed an order, admitting BPSL’s application against the IT Department. The IT department had issued show-cause notice to BPSL and sought the company to make income additions for assessment years 2004-05 to 2011-12 on various accounts aggregating to over Rs 800 crore."
Though Vadra has defended himself by saying, “Dragging my name to controversies is BJP’s Plan B…,” the BJP seems to have caught people’s fancy with the allegation.
Whether Vadra is an accused or otherwise, whether unfair loans were given to Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd to buy land from Vadra can be established only after a thorough investigation. But elections are fought on sentiments and won on emotions. And the BJP president has touched a raw nerve today, quite to the disadvantage to the grand old party.
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