Why did it take 11 years for Modi government to file a chargesheet against Robert Vadra?

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched a sustained campaign against Robert Vadra in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, making his alleged land deals a key talking point of the BJP's so-called crusade against corruption.

His frequent "damaad ji" jibes at the Gandhi family had gained good traction during the polls.

In the public perception, too, Vadra was synonymous with corruption. His alleged land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan, coupled with other serious allegations of corruption, such as 2G spectrum and coal scams, had caused massive damage to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress could barely manage to win just 44 Lok Sabha seats, registering the lowest ever tally in its electoral history.

Modi and the BJP had electorally capitalised on the huge public backlash against the Congress triggered by the anti-graft movement launched by Arvind Kejriwal and his India Against Corruption (IAC) with social activist Anna Hazare as its face. Hazare was dubbed the "Modern Mahatma Gandhi" due to his hunger strike and mass movement against corruption.

After coming to power in 2014, Modi had raked up Vadra's name only during elections, but no concrete action was taken against him. Ahead of the 2014 assembly elections in Maharashtra, he had demanded strict action against the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda over the alleged Vadra-DLF land deals.

The question thus remains: why didn't the Modi government take any action against him?

Many people argued that Modi was waiting for an opportune time. But is this the right time? The only state going to the polls in the next few months is Bihar, and the next Lok Sabha elections are nearly four years away. Hence, the timing seems off.

So, is it a case of law taking its course? In the majority of cases involving political leaders from non-BJP parties, the Modi government had moved swiftly, and the investigation agencies appeared in a hurry to act against those individuals.

Vadra's case seemed straight out of the hare and tortoise tale. There seemed to be no urgency, and the investigation took its own sweet time.

Perhaps the Modi government thought that any action against Vadra might help the Gandhis and the Congress to gain some sympathy, apprehending that the perceived witch-hunting might help in the revival of the grand old party at the national level.

But even today, Vadra does not have any public sympathy and continues to be a symbol of corruption for a large section of the people, especially the middle class. The disdain against Vadra seems to have a cascading effect on the image of the Gandhis and subsequently on the revival of the Congress.

Every time Vadra comes out with a statement expressing his wish to join the electoral fray, a section of the people react strongly to it. Not only for Vadra, but the Gandhis and the Congress party as well, it would be better if he stays away from politics.