I remember how in 2009, a video had emerged of Varun Gandhi addressing crowds somewhere in UP. The supposed overtones of the content were unnecessarily hyped and this many say became the centre point to the loss of BJP in those elections. When we talk about 2014, there are many reasons why UPA went into doldrums and Congress went down to its historic low. The rise of Modi was aided by a scam ridden Manmohan Govt, however the onus of projecting the Congress in dire straits became the son in law of the Congress president in form of Robert Vadra.
The entanglement of Vadra into the realms of controversy was tripartite in lieu with the damage he caused to the prospects of the Congress in 2014. It ratified UPA being corrupt mired into a deep credibility crisis and scams, secondly it highlighted the dynastically inclined nature of the Congress party giving credence to allegations made by BJP then and finally it also exposed state centre big business nexus in facilitating a cover-up where both govts happened to be of the Indian National Congress. There were many aspects raised by the opposition then with respect to Vadra and the most prominent of it was the land deal that involved Vadra, Hooda govt in Haryana and the real estate giant DLF.
Vadra and his company, Sky Light Hospitality Private Limited purchased a 3.5-acre plot in Shikohpur village near Manesar and later sold the plot to DLF at a monumentally high profit. Bhupinder Singh Hooda who was at the helm in Haryana that time too came under the midst of scrutiny for granting the licence and together it all created a perfect recipe of elitist corruption. The spotlight on the case was amplified by two more factors apart from raking this as an issue by BJP. Ashok Khemka, IAS officer emphasised the land deal scam with respect to mutation, irregular financial transactions and incorrect bank balance. However his attempts were stonewalled by the Hooda Govt to give a clean chit. Nevertheless CAG noted in its reports tabled at the floor of the house which replicated Khemka and his findings in spirit and this caused the issue to not die down but remain in the news bytes. Vadra and his epic centric DLF land deal became tug of war with the Congress accusing wrongfully targeting of a private citizen and BJP trading favouritism charges owing to his proximity to the Gandhi family.
As Narendra Modi vociferously campaigned for a Congress free nation, Vadra and his dealings became the face of it and thorough investigations after sweeping to power were promised.
As the Modi Govt assumed the reins of the central government in New Delhi, a one-man commission under a retired Judge justice Dhingra was constituted to investigate the matter.
The war of words post the formation of the commission increased with the Congress alleging witch hunting although Bhupinder Singh Hooda failed twice to report to the commission. Justice Dhingra submitted his report to the newly led BJP govt in Haryana which highlighted irregularities and necessitated filing an FIR. There has been allegations from the Congress side of bribing involved however the impeccability in the integrity of Justice Dhingra can be seen in his landmark judgements with respect to Nitish Katara and the Parliament attack cases. Even if one aspect of the investigation is alleged to be a political vendetta, Ashok Khemka and CAG together cannot be wrong with the former having a glorious clean track record and non-allegiance to any party.
Read – Arms Dealer and London House? But Robert Vadra has a Powerful Saas
So after the Justice Dhingra report was submitted with ensuing possibilities of Robert Vadra being cornered, now the Rajasthan high court has summoned him and officials of his firm the sky light hospitality for questioning pertaining to a land deal case in Bikaner which seems to have furthered the gigantic morass of the Vadra matter.As a matter of fact, there have been people talking about how the issue has died down after elections and the fact he being still a VIP without needing to be frisked.
However, the emergence of Justice Dhingra report and now Rajasthan high court summoning is detrimental to Vadra and the Gandhi family but this may be a handy weapon of sorts to further weaken the Congress and its chances of a revival.
Even if these investigations and court rulings would over burden the Gandhi family who has received a lot of flak for its post 2014 doom and still adhering to Rahul Gandhi as a mascot, the biggest damage that can be inflicted is affecting the chances of a supposed interjection of Priyanka Gandhi in politics. As certain factions on the party are in favour of Priyanka Gandhi mantling the reins of the party, any attempts to do it will be countered with Vadra and the land dealings.
When the Congress party is on a frontal attack on govt over demonetisation and black money, Vadra issue may blunt their posturing to in cascade plummet their electoral opportunities. These two aspects are the prime ramifications and may sabotage any little chances of imbibing life in a brain dead Congress.
All the historic monumental scams of the UPA were perfectly ensured to not dent the image of the Gandhi family. Manmohan Govt and allies were blamed and scapegoats were made. However the Vadra factor undisputedly mucks the royals of Amethi and Rae Baereli which the Congress spokesmen find it difficult to withstand and defend.