Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi I File photo Photo Credit: ANI Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi I File photo

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh: After Congress leader Priyanka Vadra’s husband Robert Vadra hinted at joining politics in a Facebook post on Sunday, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the first to target him. Taking a jab at the Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law, Naqvi said the “political circus” of “Priyanka-Rahul (P-R)” lacked a joker which is now complete.

'Robert Vadra ji you are welcome to contest polls from UP's Moradabad LS constituency': Yeh jo P-R (Priyanka-Rahul) siyasi circus hai, us P-R siyasi circus mein joker ki entry baaki thi aur joker ki entry ab dikhayi pad rahi hai (The political circus of P-R lacked the entry of a joker which it seems will now be completed).

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Earlier Monday, posters welcoming Vadra as Congress’ potential candidate from Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency propped up all across the city here. “Robert Vadra ji, we welcome you to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Moradabad constituency,” the poster put out by Moradabad Yuvak Congress read.

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Vadra, in a Facebook on Sunday lamented the on-going Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation against him, and dubbed it a government tactic to divert the attention away from “real issues of the country”.

“The years and months that I spent campaigning and working in different parts of the country, but mainly in UP, gave me a feeling to do more for the people and make smaller changes possible by me, in their areas and when they got to know me, the genuine love, affection and respect I earned was humbling ..” he wrote in the social media post. He said all these years of “experience and learning” cannot be wasted away, I feel I should dedicate a larger role in serving the people,” Vadra wrote.

The post led to speculation that Vadra might join politics ahead of Lok Sabha election 2019. The development comes under a month of Vadra’s wife Priyanka Vadra Gandhi taking charge as All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary of Eastern UP.

The 49-year-old businessman told the news agency ANI, that his first priority will to absolve himself of the "baseless". "But yes, I will start working on it. There is no hurry. People need to feel that I can make a change... All in time".