New Delhi: Just two days ahead of the poll results in five states, businessman and husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra is contemplating his entry into politics via Congress even as he claims several other parties have approached him.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Robert Vadra said that he will take a final call over joining politics after having a discussion with his family though he has got requests to join politics and to represent Moradabad, his home town. He also asserted that this could possibly be the only way to fight against BJP or any other party that keeps on making allegations against him.
"I haven't decided it yet but yes, I have a family business there (Moradabad), my ancestors have lived there and the focal point of my social work is also there. This is why they want me to represent Moradabad. However, there are other places that the other parties have considered me for but my focus is with Congress. I haven't decided yet, but I think I'm going to do it soon," he said when asked about contesting elections from Moradabad in the General Elections.
Speaking about the allegations made against him, Vadra said, "In the last 10 years, I have found that not only BJP, but other parties like AAP have been spreading rumours and making false accusations against me. They have also been trying to intimidate me through agencies including the Enforcement Directorate. After every few months, we receive notices from the Income Tax Department. This is the mode they opt for when they are cornered or have troubles in their governments. All of this is only because I'm associated with the Gandhi family. Since I am a businessman, they always try to find something to tarnish my image, most of which is simply untrue," he said.
Shedding some light on his plans to "fight these attempts", Vadra said, "I've decided to resort to legal methods to fight this. But I think they fail to differentiate between me as a businessman and as a member of a family with a political background. So I think it would be better if I fight them in Parliament. It is the kind of platform where I think I would efficiently be able to fight and put up a sound argument against whatever accusations they make against me," he said.
"Also, being in politics, I would be able to do my social work on a very large scale and I think that's what my main objective is," he added. Vadra praised Priyanka Gandhi's efforts at changing the gender-wise political dynamic in the country by preferring women candidates for Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, especially the ones who have struggled in their lives.
Vadra attacked the Central Government over the recent evacuation process of Indian students from Ukraine. "It is the responsibility of the Government to keep all the political parties in confidence and apprise them about the current situation in order to relieve the hardships that the Indians stranded there are facing," he said.
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