Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been named in an Enforcement Directorate chargesheet – for the first time – over the alleged purchase and sale of five acres of land in Haryana. Her husband, businessman Robert Vadra, is also named but neither of them have been listed as “accused”.

The chargesheet was filed against CC Thampi, an NRI businessman, and Sumit Chadha, a British national of Indian origin. The ED believes they helped fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari – who is accused of violating the Official Secrets Act, among other laws – hide the proceeds of his crimes.

The agency – often accused of acting against opposition leaders on orders from the centre – has referred to Ms Gandhi Vadra’s transactions with HL Pahwa, a Delhi-based real estate agent who sold her agricultural land in Faridabad in 2006 and, four years later, re-purchased the same tract.

In addition, ED sources told NDTV, a house was allegedly purchased in Ms Gandhi Vadra’s name, in Faridabad’s Amipur village, in April 2006 and sold back to Mr Pahwa at the same time as the land.

Mr Pahwa is the same agent from whom Mr Vadra allegedly bought 40.8 acres of land in Amipur between 2005 and 2006, and sold it all back to him in December 2010.

A similar deal was executed with Mr Thampi, who was arrested in January 2020. According to the ED, he bought 486 acres in the same village – from HL Pahwa – between 2005 and 2008

The ED had named Mr Vadra – who the agency claims has a “long and thick relationship”, and “… common and similar business interests…”, with Mr Thampi – in earlier chargesheets.

Political Reactions

Ms Gandhi Vadra has not reacted so far, but Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told reporters “names of several leaders are attached with ED right before Lok Sabha elections”.

The Aam Aadmi Party, a member of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc, hit out at the ED for “continuously taking action against opposition leaders”. AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said, “The law is ‘guilty until proven innocent’ for opposition and ‘innocent until proven guilty’ for the country…”

Congress’ Big Changes Before 2024 Lok Sabha Polls

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was at the centre of a major organisational reshuffle in the Congress last week; she was replaced, by Avinash Pandey, as the General Secretary in-Charge of Uttar Pradesh, a politically significant state as the party preps for the Lok Sabha election due in less than four months.

READ | Priyanka Gandhi Out In Congress’ Major Reshuffle Ahead Of Polls

Ms Gandhi Vadra remains the Congress’ General Secretary but “without any assigned portfolio”, fuelling speculation she will finally make her electoral debut.

READ | Nitish Kumar, Priyanka Gandhi’s Names Proposed For This Big Challenge

Earlier this month sources told NDTV Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is on a (very) short list of political heavyweights – the others are Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal – who may be fielded against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in UP’s Varanasi, seen as a particularly impregnable BJP stronghold.

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Thirteen people have died, and 18 were injured, after a privately-owned bus burst into flames after it collided with a truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna last night. The bus, owned by BJP leader Dharmendra Sikarwar, had expired fitness and insurance certificates, and road tax had not been paid since 2021.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav called it a “heart-breaking incident” and said he had ordered a probe. He vowed “strict action” against those responsible. “I am in constant contact with the District Collector and SP (Superintendent of Police). I am visiting Guna right now,” he said.

गुना बस हादसे में 13 लोग ज़िंदा जल गये, बीजेपी नेता की बस थी फिटनेस 2015 में खत्म, इंश्योरेंस 2009, रोड टैक्स 2021 … फिर भी बस दौड़ रही थी pic.twitter.com/HW2C3gNqDc

— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) December 28, 2023

“We will try to ensure such an incident does not happen again. I have ordered an inquiry. We are trying to find out information about the permit of the bus and how the accident occurred.”

Mr Yadav expressed his condolences to the families of those killed, and ordered compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to those families and Rs 50,000 to each of those injured.

Madhya Pradesh Guna Bus Accident: What Happened?

Police said the bus was travelling from Guna to Aron, which are about 40 km apart. Carrying about 30 passengers, and a driver and conductor, it set off at 8 pm. The collision took place at 8.30 pm.

The bus overturned and exploded into flames after the collision, police officials said.

“It crashed into the dumper truck at top speed. We recovered 12 bodies from the scene (and) 14 injured passengers were rushed to the district hospital,” Guna police official Vijay Kumar Khatri said.

A thirteenth body – believed to be the driver – was recovered after the fire was put out.

BJP’s Jyotiraditya Scindia Responds

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, a former Guna Lok Sabha MP, called the accident “painful”.

गुना आरोन रोड पर यात्री बस में आग लगने की खबर दुखदायी है। घटना की खबर मिलते ही गुना कलेक्टर से दूरभाष पर चर्चा कर शीघ्र राहत एवं बचाव कार्य शुरू करने के निर्देश दिये।

ईश्वर इस हादसे में दिवंगत हुए नागरिकों की आत्मा को शांति और उनके परिजनों को ये आघात सहने की शक्ति प्रदान करे।…

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) December 27, 2023

“Soon after getting information about the incident, I spoke to the collector and SP and directed them to start a relief and rescue operation,” he said.

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Children in Karnataka’s Shivamogga were forced to clean and scrub school toilets in a video that has been widely circulated online and drawn angry protests from parents. Shivamogga is state Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa’s home district and the Block Education Officer has filed a report.

The shocking incident took place sometime last week but the video surfaced just now. The headmistress told the BDA students were only asked to pour water and not actually clean the toilets.

This is the third such incident in the southern state this month alone.

Last week students of a government school in state capital Bengaluru were also found cleaning toilets. Furious parents and activists staged protests outside the school in the city’s Andrahalli area.

In the Andrahalli case, Mr Bangarappa condemned the “deplorable” incident. The minister, who was involved in a car crash late last night but is safe, has not yet responded to the incident in his district.

“… there is no doubt we will take the strictest action as per law. Further, I will ensure such incidents don’t repeat… and will ensure all necessary action is taken by our department,” he had said.

After the Bengaluru shocker, the Education Department suspended the school headmaster, and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar warned those who would force children to perform such tasks.

“NSS and Seva Dal camps use to give train kids in cleaning garden or planting saplings but we didn’t give permission for children to clean the toilets,” the senior Congress leader said.

Before the Bengaluru and Shivamogga incidents, the principal and a teacher of a residential school in Kolar district were arrested, and four contractual staff sacked, after another horrific video – of Dalit students cleaning a septic tank. In another video, students were seen kneeling carrying heavy bags.

READ | Dalit Students Made To Clean Septic Tank In Karnataka, Principal Arrested

Those visuals were from the Morarji Desai Residential School that has 243 students, four of whom were made to climb down into the tank and clean it with their hands as a punishment.

The visuals sparked outrage and led to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah intervening.