Vadra Land Deal Case : A hot election issue

By Deepak Parvatiyar

October 11, 2014

This is one such case that involves high and mighty – Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra!  His alleged involvement in controversial land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan had been a hotly discussed issue. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ubiquitously termed it as ‘Damadgate’ a la ‘Watergate’. Narendra Modi, whenever in a campaign mode, has been quite acerbic in his remarks on this issue.

Image Credits: Last Emperor

The immediate provocation for Modi to rake up the issue of Vadra land deals now once again at his elections rallies in Haryana which faces assembly elections on 15th October, was the report that the Congress government of Haryana had  cleared a land deal between Robert Vadra and real estate major DLF. Modi alleged the State Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was “pressurised from the top (Congress leadership) to take such a decision,” and “hoped” the Election Commission “will take appropriate action for any violation of the Model Code of Conduct”.

The Vadra land deal case – A quick recap

It was on 5th October, 2012 that Arvind Kejriwal, who had just launched his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and his party colleague and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan held a press conference and alleged that Vadra purchased at least 31 properties, mostly in New Delhi, worth over Rs 300 crore for which money came from “unsecured interest-free loans from DLF Ltd”. They alleged that the bulk of the properties purchased from real estate firm DLF were at a price far below the market rates. They charged that the deal could be a ‘quid pro quo’ for DLF as it had benefited to the tune of around 350 acres of land in the Congress-ruled Haryana. The DLF denied giving any such unsecured loan to Vadra and stated that it had given Rs 65 crore as “business advances”, out of which Rs 15 crore was fully refunded and Rs 50 crore was used for the purchase of land. However, soon the BJP too joined the issue and demanded a probe on grounds that why the DLF which itself had a loan to the tune of Rs 22,000 crore and paying an interest of 15 percent thereon was extending interest-free loans worth Rs 65 crore to Vadra.

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Vadra Allegations: Strategy or Error on Modi’s Part?

Yet ultimately, it emerged that Modi’s claims were not backed up by facts. Since the state government decision was taken in July – much before the enforcement of the model code of conduct –  it was not a poll code violation and theElection Commission ruled so after taking formal cognizance of the Prime Minister’s allegations.

What does this imply? Was it a deliberate decision of the Prime Minister to seek electoral gains or was it a faux pass? A defiant BJP though now claims that  the Hooda government in Haryana did not furnish full facts about the land deal to the Election Commission. Expectedly, the Congress now demands an apology from the PM!

It may be mentioned that the Vadra’s land deal issue had emerged as a pet issue of the BJP and Modi had repeatedly raked it up in his election rallies in the run up to the last general elections too. Yet, he was not the PM then!
What Prevents PM Modi from Taking Action Against Vadra?

Apparently allegations of such nature and that too coming from the Prime Minister of all the persons have even confounded Modi’s most staunch supporters.  As one quipped on the Facebook – “There’s no point in making ‘damaad-ji’ jokes if you are PM of a country, have all the resources at your disposal, and are still not prosecuting the said ‘damaad-ji’. It only makes us wonder why you are doing nothing.”

Obviously why should one justify Modi playing to the gallery on an issue of such a serious nature? If he thinks Vadra is guilty then as the PM, he does have the means to take action and book the culprit.

Yet, wouldn’t any action against the family member of a political rival smack of a ‘political vendetta’? Indeed, such a prospect does loom large and needs a careful approach.

Vadra Land Deals : A Complicated Issue

As late as on 16th September this year, the Delhi High Court had rejected a Public Interest Litigation that sought a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into these Vadra deals under charges of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and Prevention of Corruption Act.

It does seem there is much than what meets the eye in the Vadra land deals. He faces charges of indulging into dubious land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan. It all started when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was at the helm in New Delhi and both Rajasthan and Haryana had Congress governments in the state. The BJP made it a big election issue in the Rajasthan assembly elections and the last general elections as well. It even released a booklet and a video titled ‘Damaadgate’, of Vadra’s illegally acquiring land and made serious allegations against Hooda -led Congress government in Haryana and the former Congress government in Rajasthan of violating the rules and also overlooking environmental aspects while allotting land to Vadra.

The particular case of Haryana came to light in 2012 when Khemka, the then Director General (Consolidation) of Haryana, cancelled the mutation of the 3.5 acres land sold by Vadra in 2008 to DLF on grounds that it violated the Consolidation Act of the states. While the state government questioned Khemka’s decision to scrap the deal without giving the affected parties a chance to give their version, it was though forced to order an investigation into the deal worth Rs 58 crore. The inquiry found Khemka’s decision to be “baseless” and the state government finally sanctioned the mutation in July this year.

The issue refuses to die ever since, at least during elections!