The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday issued a second summons to businessman Robert Vadra in connection with a money laundering investigation related to the Shikhopur land deal in Haryana. The summons comes days after Vadra failed to appear before the agency following an earlier notice issued on April 8.
In a show of defiance, Vadra, accompanied by supporters and Congress workers, marched to the ED office, asserting his innocence and calling the case a politically motivated attack. “Whenever I talk for the people, they try to suppress me. It’s a political vendetta. I have nothing to hide,” he said.
He further claimed that the case has been repeatedly used to target him and his family, particularly when he expresses interest in entering active politics. “People love me and want me to join politics. When I express that willingness, they bring up old issues to divert from real problems,” he added. Vadra also stated that he has been summoned 15 times and interrogated for over 10 hours each time over the past 20 years, and that his legal team is compiling 23,000 documents to support his defense.
Meanwhile, Congress supporters present at the ED office chanted slogans accusing the ruling BJP of misusing central agencies. One of the popular chants was, “Jab jab Modi darta hai, ED ko aage karta hai,” implying that the agency is being used to silence dissent and target opposition voices.
The case pertains to a 2008 land transaction in Shikohpur village near Gurgaon, where Vadra’s company Skylight Hospitality purchased around three acres of land for Rs 7.5 crore. Later, the Haryana town planning department issued a letter of intent to develop a commercial colony on 2.71 acres of the plot. Subsequently, Skylight entered into an agreement with DLF to sell the land for Rs 58 crore, and the sale deed was registered in favor of DLF.
Once Vadra deposes before the ED, the agency is expected to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to sources cited by news agency PTI. He has previously been questioned by the ED in connection with another money laundering case.
