New Delhi:
Alleged land deals involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra in Haryana today sparked a political storm in Parliament and led to repeated disruptions.
The BJP accused the government of protecting Mr Vadra and called for a Supreme Court monitored investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into his deals.
"There are many business schools that teach us how to make money and profit, but one highly connected person in our country has learnt the art of making hundreds of crores of rupees without going to any business school or investing anything - we have such a highly connected person whose name is Robert Vadra," said senior BJP MP Yashwant Sinha, in the Lok Sabha.
FinanceMinister P Chidambaram could take some tips from Mr Vadra, scoffed Mr Sinha, himself aformer finance minister.
Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansari refused to allow a discussion on Mr Vadra amid loud protests by the BJP.
"Does this house wish to become a federation of anarchists? Every rule and etiquette in the book is being flouted," he said angrily, before adjourning the House.
The BJP wants a discussion in both houses of parliament on Mr Vadra's allegedly irregular land deals in Haryana, where the Congress has been in power since 2005. But the government argues that such a discussion can't be allowed as Mr Vadra is not a member of parliament and cannot defend himself against the allegations.
Sources say the Congress's top managers and leaders sought the support of allies to help block the discussion.
BJP leaders have reportedly indicated that the Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, should handle its questions.
Mr Vadra has been linked to "sham deals" in Haryana by senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was transferred in October last year after he sought to cancel a 58-crore land deal between Mr Vadra and real estate giant DLF.
In May, he submitted a report to the Haryana government that details his investigation against Mr Vadra and other land deals. He said that a 3.5-acre plot sold by Mr Vadra to DLF had been transacted in violation of all guidelines and that by granting a license to use the land for a commercial project, the Haryana government had gifted the Congress president's son-in-law windfall gain.
Mr Khemka says the deal was heavily studded with malpractices which included a fictitious cheque and fictitious documents.
A Congress MP from Haryana, Rao Inderjit Singh, who asked on Monday for an inquiry into Mr Vadra's transactions as part of a larger investigation, may be expelled from the party soon, said sources.