Politics

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. (File Photo: IANS)

India, News, Politics 8 February 2019

Priyanka and Rahul to hold roadshow in Lucknow on Feb 11

New Delhi, Feb 07. Newly-appointed Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will hit the campaign trail with brother and party President Rahul Gandhi in battleground Uttar Pradesh with a roadshow in Lucknow on February 11. Both the Gandhis along with General Secretary for west Uttar Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia will lead the roadshow from Lucknow airport to the state Congress office where they will interact with the media. Priyanka Gandhi and Scindia will then interact with state leaders and party workers on February 12, 13 and 14, to chalk the strategies for the Lok Sabha elections in the country’s most populous state which sends 80 members to parliament. The Congress, not a part of Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance in UP, has decided to go it alone but also keep the door open for prospective allies. The party could win only two seats in the state in the 2014 general elections. Priyanka Gandhi, on Thursday attended her maiden party meeting presided by Rahul Gandhi at the Congress headquarters here where all General Secretaries and in-charges of states, brainstormed over the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Talking to media after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi reiterated his allegation against prime Minster Narendra Modi over the “Rafale scam“. “The Prime Minister has helped steal Rs 30,000 crore from the defence forces. He has handed that money to Anil Ambani. He has done this personally,” said the Congress chief, with Priyanka Gandhi by his side. Congress General Secretary K. C. Venugopal, later interacting with the media, said the party will finalise the candidate list for the general elections by the end of the month. “The party has decided to expedite the process of candidate sections and finalise alliances in the state wherever possible. All the General Secretaries and state in charges have been asked to finalise the candidates by February,” he said. He said that preference will be given to women, youth and minorities while selecting the candidates and there will be a fine blend of youth and experience in the final list of candidates. He also said that Rahul Gandhi has asked for setting up a…

businesses, India, News, Politics 6 February 2019

ED questions Robert Vadra for over six hours in money laundering case

New Delhi, Feb 6. Four days after a Delhi court ordered Robert Vadra to join the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation, he was questioned for over six hours on Wednesday. Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, arrived at the ED’s office located in central Delhi’s Jamnagar House at 3.45 p.m and left at 9.35 p.m. He was accompanied by his wife and Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to the agency office earlier in the day. However, after dropping Vadra at the ED office, Priyanka left the premises. It was the first time that Vadra was questioned by any investigative agencies. He was questioned by a team of seven ED officials of the rank of Deputy Director and Assistant Directors under the sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. According to a financial probe agency official, Vadra was asked questions relating to transactions, purchase and possession of certain immovable assets in London. The case relates to the ownership of 1.9 million pounds of undisclosed assets abroad, allegedly belonging to Vadra. The ED also lodged a money laundering case against Vadra’s close aide Manoj Arora after his role surfaced during a probe by the Income Tax Department into another case under the new Black Money Act and tax law against absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The London property was allegedly bought by Bhandari and sold in 2010 for the same amount despite incurring additional expenses on its renovation. On December 7, as part of the investigation, the ED conducted searches at a number of premises in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. The ED counsel told the court earlier that the London property was part of the kickbacks received in a petroleum deal. The money was transferred by Santech International, FZC, a UAE-based company controlled by Bhandari. There were a few more properties that needed to be probed, the counsel said. The official said that Arora, an employee of Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality LLP, is a key suspect in the case as he is aware of the overseas investments and purchases made by his employer. He also said that…