It was an innocuous public notice tucked inside page four of a national daily that sparked off the latest controversy in the Nehru-Gandhi family. The terse notice issued by Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law proclaimed that Robert Vadra was distancing himself from his father and brother. The reason being the duo misusing the Gandhi name by "allegedly promising jobs and other favours in return for money".

After making capital on the Maneka-Sonia tussle over Katherine Frank’s biography of Indira, media focus was quick to shift to the Vadra family and its antics. Once questioned, Congressmen admitted that both Robert’s father, Rajinder Vadra, and Richard, his brother, had approached them on various occasions for school admissions and other favours. In fact, Congress sources say that it was Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who tipped Sonia Gandhi off about the Vadras.

Deshmukh told the Congress president how Richard Vadra had approached him for certain ‘favours’. Sonia spoke to Priyanka and Robert. Other...