On 2nd June, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of backing an attempt to take control of four acres of land belonging to the family of a 90-year-old Muslim woman in Kichha, Uttarakhand.
In a press briefing, Bhandari stated that the original land deed for the property, located at Khan Farm Estate in Kichha, Udham Singh Nagar, was in the name of the late Kulsum Khan. Her 90-year-old sister, Nasreen Khan, currently lives on the land.
According to Bhandari, Saira Vadra, Priyanka’s sister-in-law and a member of Robert Vadra’s family, was trying to take possession of the property despite the deed not being in her name.
Congress MLA accused of threatening elderly woman
Bhandari stated that the Congress MLA for Kichha, Tilak Raj Behar, a close aide to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, went to the property late at night with around 100 party workers and threatened Nasreen Khan.
Bhandari quoted a statement by Nasreen Khan and said, “Some people have come here who are from the Congress. They are trying to get possession of my farm handed over to the Vadra family.”
He added that Khan had referred to the entire Vadra family rather than naming Saira Vadra alone. He questioned whether the Congress MLA had acted following instructions from Priyanka or Robert. He further added that Saira and her husband, Sikandar Alam, had pressured Nasreen’s sister to sign a false affidavit and attempted to get a forged will prepared.
Bhandari said the method was to intimidate the original occupant until she left the property, after which another party could claim possession in the civil dispute.
BJP draws parallel with Robert Vadra and National Herald cases
The BJP spokesperson stated that the actions of the Congress MLA fell under the purview of Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with criminal intimidation. He added that the conduct was illegal. “The buck does not stop with the Congress MLA. The buck stops with Priyanka Vadra,” he said.
Bhandari also referred to land-related cases involving Robert Vadra, including the Shikohpur matter in Gurugram and the Bikaner-Kolayat land case linked to Skylight Hospitality.
He further drew a parallel with the National Herald case, accusing the Gandhi family of converting assets linked to freedom fighters into private assets.
Raising serious allegations against the Gandhi-Vadra family, Bhandari asked whether Priyanka had directed the Congress MLA to visit the property and why a party that claimed to support Muslims, women and the poor was targeting a 90-year-old Muslim woman over her land.
By the time this report was published, Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had not issued any statement.
