'Hounded' by govt for last 10 years: Rahul Gandhi slams ED chargesheet against Robert Vadra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the government of launching a witch-hunt against his brother-in-law Robert Vadra after the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against the businessman in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur.

Gandhi also asserted that the truth shall eventually prevail and that his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her family will withstand any kind of "persecution".

"My brother-in-law has been hounded by this government for the last ten years. This latest chargesheet is a continuation of that witch hunt," he said in a post on X.


"I stand with Robert, Priyanka and their children as they face yet another onslaught of malicious, politically motivated slander and harassment," he added.

Gandhi said, "I know that they are all brave enough to withstand any kind of persecution and they will continue to do so with dignity".

"The truth will eventually prevail," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha asserted.

Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said more than a decade has passed, hundreds of hours of questioning, several appearances before the ED, "repeated failed attempts to tarnish the family’s image, yet no conspiracy was proven, no evidence was found."

"Even after all this, nothing could be established against Mr. Vadra, so a chargesheet has been filed just to defame. This clearly exposes the malicious intent of the Modi government," Gehlot said in a post on X.

"The Gandhi family has always faced such politically motivated tactics with strength and resilience and will continue to do so. The entire party and the entire nation stand with them. One day, truth shall prevail," the former chief minister said.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said, "It seems the Modi-Shah duo has given the ED a monthly assignment to go after the Congress senior leadership and their family."

"The latest ED action against Mr. Robert Vadra is pure political vendetta - yet another futile attempt at intimidation," he charged in a post on X.

Another AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala termed as "witch-hunting" the Enforcement Directorate's charge sheet against Vadra, and said it is another attempt of the government to "intimidate and persecute" which will fail miserably.

In a post on X, he claimed there is "not an iota of illegality" in the land deal of Vadra and asked since when has sale and purchase of property become illegal.

"The witch hunting of Sh. Robert Vadra is another vicious attempt of Modi Government to intimidate and persecute, which will fail miserably," Surjewala said.

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a prosecution complaint naming the 56-year-old Vadra in a criminal case.

The federal investigative agency also attached 43 immovable properties located in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat worth Rs. 37.64 crore pertaining to Vadra and his linked entities like Sky Light Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and others.

Vadra's office issued a statement on Thursday, saying the present proceedings are nothing more than an extension of the political witch-hunt by the present government against him.