After startling revelations by OpIndia regarding the Congress President’s involvement with Sanjay Bhandari, Union Minister Smriti Irani addressed the media in New Delhi on Wednesday. The minister launched an attack on Rahul Gandhi for compromising defence preparedness of the country only to help his alleged friend Sanjay Bandhari.
Addressing mediapersons in the press conference, Union Minister Smriti Irani launched a scathing attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his family members for involving in dubious land deals while trying to influence deals for the benefit of the family, said that the ethos of the Congress party has all along been to institutionalise corruption in the party.
Citing the OpIndia exclusive expose on Rahul Gandhi’s links with Arms dealer Sanjay Bandhari and others, Smriti Irani accused Congress party of involving in “family package corruption’. “In the past 24 hours, the facts that have come out in news indicates how the Gandhi-Vadra family has made corruption a family business.
She further targetted Rahul Gandhi by citing the OpIndia reports, which had revealed his link with Sanjay Bhandari, stating that Bhandari was also under investigation for defence deals and was party to the ill-gotten fruits of corruption during UPA regime.
“The new facts which have come to the fore clearly establish a relationship between Rahul Gandhi and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. Rahul Gandhi, apart from his political interests to scuttle defence deals, also had commercial and personal interests,” accused Smriti Irani.
“Rahul Gandhi attempted to compromise the defence preparedness of the country as his friend Sanjay Bhandari did not get the Rafale deal,” alleged Smriti Irani. Rahul Gandhi has also been alleged of carrying out talks with Eurofighter representatives, which had lost in the MMRCA deal against Dassault Aviation.
Smriti Irani alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s alleged association with the Eurofighter and Sanjay Bhandari losing out on Rafale deal are the main reason behind his attempts to malign the whole Rafale Deal. She further said Rahul Gandhi should also answer regarding his special relationship with arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, CC Thampi and HL Pahwa, with whom Rahul Gandhi has had dubious land dealings.
“The nation has come to a conclusion, that Rahul Gandhi’s intervention in the defence preparedness of our country stems from his pursuit not only of individual politics but his personal commercial, as well as family interests,” said Smriti Irani.
The OpIndia exposé on Rahul Gandhi dubious land dealings had revealed that Rahul had purchased land from a person named HL Pahwa. Pahwa had also sold land to Robert Vadra thought his aide Mahesh Nagar. Even Priyanka Vadra was involved in buying land and later selling the same land to the same HL Pahwa at an inflated price. It has been revealed that HL Pahwa was receiving money from CC Thampi, a man under investigation for dealings with Vadra and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
Sanjay Bhandari is the infamous arms dealer being investigated by ED. From 2012 to 2015, Sanjay Bhandari was lobbying to become the offset partner in the Rafale deal and Dassault had refused to indulge him. There were also allegations that Bhandari was lobbying for Eurofighter after the Dassault refused to indulge him. Sanjay Bhandari is also said to have received kickbacks in defence and petroleum deals during the Congress regime.
