New Delhi: Claiming that he is always targeted by the central probe agencies when the elections are around the corner, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra on Thursday said people want him to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha to answer his detractors in the government.
In an exclusive interview with ABP on Thursday, Vadra said, “I have been campaigning extensively at Raebareli since 1999 when people see how the agencies come after me when the elections are around the corner, they believe that I should put myself in the fray for the Lok Sabha and be elected so that I can get back at my detractors. People want me to be elected to the Lok Sabha, be it from Raebareli, Amethi, Moradabad, Telangana or Delhi.”
Revealing what prompted his mother-in-law and AICC chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, to step aside as a sitting Lok Sabha member from Raebareli, a Congress stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, Vadra said she did so to make way for other aspirants and not on health grounds as was widely reported.
Vadra said Sonia, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jaipur after stepping down as a member of the Lower House, will continue to discharge the role of an Opposition leader in the Upper House.
“Mrs Gandhi resigned as a Lok Sabha MP not on health grounds but to make way for new leaders. She will continue to serve the people and play the role of an Opposition leader as a member of the Rajya Sabha,” Vadra told ABP.
“The people of Raebareli and Amethi want someone from the Gandhi family to represent them in Parliament. They also now regret electing Smriti Irani over Rahul Gandhi (from Amethi),” he claimed.
However, he said it was time his wife, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, stepped into political forefront and carry the Congress forward.
“I believe this is the time for Priyanka to step forward and become a member of Parliament. Let her be elected first, then, as and when she wants, I, too, will be elected,” Vadra said.
On the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, he said, “In my opinion, he should not have avoided ED summons as many times as he did. Even if he is an elected chief minister, he should have set his ego aside and appeared before the agency. I never missed any of my summons. I was in the US with my daughter, who was to undergo surgery, but still returned to my homeland to answer the summon issued to me. If someone dodges ED summons nine times, then it gives rise to suspicion (of foul play).”
“However, I am happy MP Sanjay Singh got bail. Now, there’s hope for justice. The BJP is misusing the agencies at its disposal to harass Opposition leaders,” he added.
On the string of exits from Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, he said, “They are leaving Congress in the hope of being rewarded. They will all return to us when the Congress is voted back at the Centre.”