Modi, Priyanka, Robert Vadra come under one roof at Hooda nephew's wedding

Perhaps for the first time ever, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Vadra and her son-in-law Robert Vadra came together under one roof when they attended the wedding reception of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda's nephew at a five-star hotel in New Delhi on Sunday. 

Conspicuous by their absence, however, were Haryana governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and the man who replaced Hooda as chief minister, Manohar Lal Khattar. This despite the fact that Khattar was invited and was in Delhi for a meeting with BJP president Amit Shah after his infamous "Muslims should give up beef remark". 

Modi, his cabinet colleagues and senior BJP leaders attended the reception of Sukhinder Hooda aka Monu, son of the former CM's elder brother Joginder, at Taj Palace. The event was hosted by former CM Hooda. Sources, however, said that Modi and the Vadra couple came to the venue at different times.

BJP's main poll plank against Congress during the Haryana election campaigning was corruption and Robert Vadra-owned company Skylight Hospitality's Rs 58-crore land deal with realty giant DLF was the most effective weapon the saffron party used to pin down Hooda in the assembly elections in October, 2014. The land deal controversy had also played a key role in shaking the foundations of UPA-2 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in May, 2014. 

Sukhinder, whose father passed away last year, has been handling all political campaigns of the former CM and his MP son Deepender Hooda. He has married Manisha, a girl from a Punjabi family.

Others who attended the event included President Pranab Mukherjee, vice-president Hamid Ansari, former PM Manmohan Singh, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and Mahesh Sharma, senior Congress leaders Janardhan Dwivedi, Oscar Farnandes, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and Haryana ministers, MPs and MLAs.

Sandeep Dikshit first to speak out in Congress against Robert Vadra

The Congress officially issued a statement backing Robert Vadra, seeking to counter the BJP by saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, had “removed the mike and walked out of a pre-fixed interview” with a leading journalist when questioned about the Gujarat riots.

Expressing his disapproval of Robert Vadra’s behaviour, Dikshit, a Congress spokesperson and former Lok Sabha MP, said: “I haven’t seen it and I am not responding as a Congress spokesperson because it is a matter between an individual and a cameraperson. All I would say is, for any person, there is a public etiquette and decorum we all maintain, and you can have overbearing media people at times, I can appreciate that, but I think for anybody we must maintain basic civility… And I think if we have some grouse we should just let it go, this kind of public display is unfortunate. I don’t know what the circumstances were and I have not seen the tape, but all of us, specially people who are known in public, must maintain a level of decorum.”

Asked whether Robert Vadra should apologise, Dikshit said it was for Robert Vadra to decide, but it was always good to assuage if somebody’s feelings were hurt. “Who am I advise him? It is up to an individual. I believe if any one of us crossed a particular decorum in terms of public behaviour, it is always good to assuage if you hurt anybody’s feelings,” he said.

Among those who backed Robert Vadra was Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh, who called the row a “minor incident”.

“Why is media making such an issue related to a small incident? I am told the agreement was (that) questions will be asked only about the gym facilities in Ashoka (Hotel), and that’s it. I do not understand the kind of media attention which Robert Vadra is getting on a non-event. Are you all very short of news these days?” he said.

In the party’s official statement, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The Indian Constitution and our established ethos guarantee right to privacy, personal space and liberty to all individuals, more so when a person is neither in public life nor holds any public office. Unpleasantness of repeatedly asking questions at private functions, like what happened with Shri Robert Vadra yesterday, must be avoided at all times.”

Surjewala added: “The repetitive hounding of an individual on an issue that has been conclusively rejected both by a constitutional body like the Election Commission of India as also high courts and finally the Supreme Court of India is not appropriate.”

The Congress said it was clear that “the episode is being propagated as a political agenda for obvious reasons”. “I want to remind leaders of the BJP and friends of the media as to how none less than the Prime Minister (then chief minister), Narendra Modi, had removed the mike and walked out of a pre-fixed interview,” Surjewala said.

Robert Vadra Asks Government to Remove Him from List of No-Frisking

Insisting that he is "not a VIP", Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra today said he had given consent for removal of his name from the elite 'no-frisking' list at airports and wondered if it was not being done as part of a "conspiracy" to malign his image.

He maintained that he has never used this "privilege" and does not need it and that he should be treated as any other normal citizen of the country.

"I am clear but wish the concerned authorities would understand that I am not a VVIP or a VIP," Mr Robert Vadra said in a statement in New Delhi against the backdrop of the government saying that it has no plans to remove him from the 'no-frisking' list.

The 'no-frisking' privilege, enjoyed by SPG protectees like Mr Robert Vadra's wife Priyanka Gandhi and Constitutional dignitaries, saves them from the requirement of going through security checks at airports.

Mr Robert Vadra's name has cropped up several times with regard to whether he should enjoy the facility.

"I have given my consent to remove my name from this list many times. My conduct says it, but apparently the analysis disclosed by the government on my threat perception, allegedly says I am not required to be on this list," he said, adding "so why double standards in removing my name from the VVIP list?"

Asserting that it takes less than a minute to get frisked and he has nothing to hide, Mr Robert Vadra said "May be I need to personally go to every airport and delete my name. Will that work? Or is it a part of a larger conspiracy to malign my image? I am humble and as normal as any citizen. So please treat me like one."

He asked those concerned to "stop wasting people's time" on this issue. "There are much larger issues to be dealt with. My humble request is to focus on them." - kartikeya sharma & robert vadra

LokSabha maynot push privilege notice against Robert Vadra

Robert Vadra had maintained in his reply that there was no attempt on his part to hurt anybody and he was only exercising his right to freedom of expression. In a Facebook post on July 21, he had said: “Parliament begins and so do their petty diversionary political tactics… People of India are not fooled. Regret to see India led by such so-called leaders.”

The Lok Sabha is unlikely to pursue the breach of privilege notice given by a BJP member against Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

“We have got his letter (sent by Robert Vadra to the Lok Sabha Secretariat),” said Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. “I have given it to the Secretary-General to examine it as per rules. If there is no issue, we will not take it up further. I do not think it is such a big issue.”

Prahlad Joshi, a BJP member from Karnataka, had sought to move a privilege motion against Vadra. Stating that he had demeaned parliamentarians, he wanted the issue referred to the privileges committee.

“As far as I am aware, the Speaker issued a notice and the person who has to respond will respond,” said Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

“Beyond this, the Congress does not have to say anything… the final decision will be taken by the Speaker.”

Privilege notice against Robert Vadra over Facebook post against MPs

Lok Sabha failed to transact any business for the second straight day as confrontation between ruling and opposition sides intensified with BJP hitting back at Congress by raking up Vadra while the Congress targeted the BJP ministers.

Two BJP MP have moved a privilege notice against Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra over a Facebook post. Vadra had allegedly made some negative remarks against MPs on his Facebook page, commenting over the impasse in Parliament. "Parliament begins and so do their petty diversionary political tactics..

"People of India are not fool. Regret to see India led by such so-called leaders !!," Robert Vadra said in a Facebook post. Later, in response to the comments by people on his post, Vadra wrote:"we need to win over this kind of dictatorship and intrusion in a democratic India. Have nothing to hide, so will fight this till they stop falsely accusing me !!".

Committee to examine age relaxation for civil services exam

An expert committee will examine various issues related to age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of civil services examination to select IAS and IPS officers. "The central government has received various representations on issues concerning the scheme of civil services examination (CSE) including for relaxation in maximum age limit and setting of question papers in the regional languages in the civil services (preliminary) examination," minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

BJP re-inducts Sabir Ali with an eye on minority votes in Bihar

Minority votes in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections are important and keeping this in mind the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today re-inducted former Rajya Sabha member Sabir Ali to its fold. Ali was a JD(U) MP till March 2014, when he was expelled from the party for praising Narendra Modi. He joined BJP on March 28, but was expelled the very next day after his induction faced severe criticism within the party, especially from party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who in his tweet had insinuated that he had links with arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.

India ranks third among top 10 countries for LEED green buildings

India ranks third on the US Green Building Council's annual ranking of the top 10 countries for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings. LEED is a widely used green building rating system. The top 10 list is led by Canada with a total of 4,814 LEED certified and registered projects followed by China with 2,022 such projects. India comes third with 1,883 LEEd certified projects. In comparison, the US, which is not included in the list, has 53,908 LEED certified projects.

ISIS bigger threat to US than al-Qaeda: FBI

The FBI chief has warned that the Islamic State has become a bigger threat to the US than al-Qaeda as the dreaded group has influenced a significant number of Americans through social media and instructed them to carry out attacks in their own country. The group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a former al-Qaeda commander in Iraq, has gone on to build a global network of affiliates and branches that now stretches from Afghanistan to West Africa.

Bail for Jitender Singh Tomar in fake degree case

Former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar was today granted bail by a court in Delhi  in an alleged fake degree case with riders. A bar on his travel outside the national capital without prior permission from the court and joining the investigation as and when required, are some of the conditions imposed in the bail order. Tomar, an MLA from Trinagar, was arrested on June 9 following a probe by the Delhi police on the complaint of Bar Council of Delhi that he had obtained a fake law degree from a Bihar college. Tomar has been asked to deposit a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the like amount.

100 IAS officers came under CBI scanner in last 5 years

The government has revealed today that 100 IAS officers came under the CBI scanner in the last five years for their alleged involvement in various corruption cases with the Central Government according sanction to prosecute 66 of them. The CBI has sent requests seeking sanction to prosecute 100 IAS officer, 10 CSS Group A officers and nine CBI Group A officer since 2010,  The Centre sanctioned the CBI requests in the cases of 66 IAS officers, 8 CSS Group A officers and six CBI Group A officers during the period.

Over two hours on Facebook daily bad for kids' memory

A Canadian study has found that spending more than two hours daily on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram can put children at the risk of developing poor mental health, high psychological distress and even suicidal thoughts. The study compared time spent using social networking sites to the teenagers' self-reports of psychological well-being and unmet needs for mental health support.

All new metro stations to have toilets

Taking note of passenger amenities the government has decided that all upcoming metro stations including 32 of them under the Delhi Metro will have toilets. Direction has been issued to all metro companies implementing metro projects under 50:50 joint venture partnership between the Centre and respective state and Union Territory governments to provide toilets in the paid areas of all proposed metro stations, urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in a written reply today in Rajya Sabha.

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