Update: Congress now says that the painting in question wasn’t made by Priyanka Gandhi — it was an MF Hussain painting that had been presented to her father Rajiv Gandhi, and was subsequently inherited by her. The Congress claims that at the entire amount was disclosed in Priyanka Gandhi’s income tax return of 2010. The article has been updated to reflect this information.
A link between the Gandhis and the founder of the beleaguered Yes Bank has now surfaced.
Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, who’s currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, purchased a painting owned by Priyanka Gandhi for Rs. 2 crore, Times Now has reported. The Income Tax Department is now investigating whether there is a link between Rana Kapoor and Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi. Sources indicate that Rana Kapoor has close links with the Gandhis, Times Now reported. Yes Bank has been placed under a moratorium by the Reserve Bank, and customers are only allowed to now withdraw Rs. 50,0000 from their accounts.
The Congress, for its part, hasn’t denied that Priyanka Gandhi’s painting was indeed bought by Rana Kapoor for Rs 2 crore, but claimed that it didn’t necessarily indicate any wrongdoing. “So what if Priyanka Gandhi sold the painting to Rana Kapoor,” said a Congress spokesperson. “When you’re selling something, you don’t look at the identity of the buyer. Had PM Modi wanted to buy the painting he could have done so,” he added.
#Breaking | @INCIndia reacts on the Rana Kapoor- @priyankagandhi Vadra link.
‘How can a purchase deed become a link?,’ asks Congress.
Details by Samia. Listen in. | #YesBankCollapse pic.twitter.com/Q1hsQetHWl
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 8, 2020
Priyanka Gandhi isn’t the only politician who has sold art to corporate clients for substantial amounts — fellow Mahagathbandhan partner Mamata Banerjee has also seen her paintings picked up for large sums. Between 2011 and 2013, the TMC had earned a whopping Rs. 6.4 crore through the sale of Mamata Banerjee’s paintings to corporate honchos. It had been alleged that the buyers of the paintings were mostly heads of several Ponzi firms who were either behind bars or absconding after 2012.
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