Allegations utterly false, defamatory: Vadra

Robert Vadra dismissed as "utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory" allegations over his property dealings with DLF and said he was saddened by attempt of activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan to malign him and his family to "gain cheap publicity".

"I am a private law abiding citizen who has been engaged in business over the last 21 years. The allegations leveled against me by Kejriwal and Bhushan are utterly false, entirely baseless and defamatory", Vadra, Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, said in a statement, two days after charges made by the civil society activists at a press conference created a political storm.

43-year-old Vadra said he was "saddened by the attempt of Kejriwal and Bhushan to deliberately misrepresent numbers contained in my financial statements, manufacture lies against me and malign me and my family in order to gain cheap publicity for themselves and for the launch of their political party".

He said, "My business transactions are fully reflected in financial statements filed before appropriate government authorities in compliance with the law. They are available in the public domain to anyone interested in knowing the truth."

His statement came a day after he broke his silence over the controversy surrounding his property dealings, saying he could "handle all the negativity".

Kejriwal earlier today described as "half truths and lies" the clarifications of reality major DLF on the allegations that Vadra was given property at throw away prices for government favours.