Priyanka Gandhi takes charge as AICC general secretary

New Delhi: The day her husband Robert Vadra was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took charge as AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP, meanwhile, targeted Priyanka Gandhi by going on an offensive against her husband Robert Vadra, alleging he got “kickbacks” from petroleum and defence deals during the UPA regime.

Priyanka on Wednesday took charge as AICC general secretary and will helm the party’s affairs in Uttar Pradesh East. She assumed charge after dropping her husband Robert Vadra at the ED office. She then met party workers.

The Gandhi scion was appointed as general secretary and in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh region on January 23 by her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Her office is adjacent to the room of her brother’s at the party headquarters at Akbar Road in New Delhi.

Interestingly, posters carrying slogans like ‘Kattar Soch Nahi, Yuva Soch’ and ‘Jan-Jan Ki Hai, Yahi Pukaar, Rahul ji-Priyanka ji Ab Ki Baar,’ which were put up late Tuesday evening near the Congress headquarters were removed on Wednesday as some of these carried photographs of Robert Vadra along with the party president and the newly appointed party general secretary of the eastern UP.  She will attend her first official meeting on Thursday.

Rahul has convened the meeting of all general secretaries and in-charges of various states to plan the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, after dropping off Vadra at the Enforcement Directorate office she said, “I stand by my family”.  

Her remarks came in response to a query about her husband being questioned by the ED in connection with a money laundering case relating to alleged possession of illegal foreign assets.

Before coming to AICC headquarters, Priyanka dropped off Mr Vadra at the probe agency’s office. Mr Vadra was directed by a Delhi court to cooperate with the investigation agency in its money laundering probe into alleged possession of illegal foreign assets.

In an attack seemingly aimed at Priyanka Gandhi, the BJP targeted Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra after the

ED quizzed him connection with a money laundering probe, alleging he got “kickbacks” from petroleum and defence deals during the UPA regime.   BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that Vadra “bought eight to nine properties in London” from the money he got as kickbacks in 2008-09 when the UPA was in power.

Patra said he would like to ask Vadra “what is the formula of becoming crorepati from roadpati?” Alleging that “corruption” has been the “core agenda” of the Congress party, Patra said, “Everybody knows every member of the family is out on bail.” “The 2019 Lok Sabha election is a fight between the gang of corrupt versus transparency of Narendra Modi government,” he said.

Patra alleged that the “kickbacks received from petroleum deal” went to the account of a company linked to Vadra and that he did round-tripping of money through various ways. Similarly, the BJP spokesperson alleged, another company used to get kickbacks in defence deals during the UPA regime, which eventually went to Vadra.

Quoting an e-mail trail, he alleged that Vadra’s company received “kickbacks” from a series of companies floated to “turn black money into white”.