"The country wants me to be in active politics," Robert Vadra said (File)
Congress National General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband, Robert Vadra, has hinted about a political debut in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Stating that while he has attempted to stay away from politics he has not ruled out entering the electoral fray if the party feels he can bring about a change. If given a chance, he said he would pick Moradabad and Haryana to contest from.
"I have stayed away from politics, but different political parties wanted to pull me into politics and used tactics to trouble me for being connected to the Gandhi family. I have always been treated as a political tool and a soft target or hard target whenever there is an election," Mr Vadra said, speaking to news agency ANI on Tuesday.
The son-in-law of Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said he felt he could give such critics a better response politically as an MP.
"People have felt that I should give them an answer, not as a businessman but as an MP inside the Parliament politically," he said.
"The country wants me to be in active politics. If the Congress party feels that I can bring a change, I will come into active politics. It is not necessary that I will contest from Amethi. People from Moradabad and Haryana are also requesting me to contest from their constituency," Mr Vadra said.
The Congress is yet to announce its candidates from Amethi and Raebareli. Rahul Gandhi lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi.
Responding to a question about the allegations levelled against him, Mr Vadra said, "Much time has passed. Whatever allegations they levelled against me were baseless. I have answered all questions before the ED...I have submitted 23,000 documents. I have been going there for the years and used to stay there for 12-15 hours."
Speaking about his religious affiliations, Mr Vadra said that he is 'secular'. "I believe that we should remain secular and stay away from the politics of religion. PM Modi should take up people's issues and think about how we can move towards progress."
On allegations that the Congress is against Sanatan Dharma, Mr Vadra said, "My family is secular and it always thinks about a secular country. It has been so since Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi's times."
Speaking about his decision to come into active politics, he said, "As far as my role in active politics is concerned, I offer Bhandara every week and serve people throughout the country and stay with them. Finding solutions to the problems of the people is my responsibility because I am from the Gandhi family. I have always felt strengthened when I work for people..."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)