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| FBI had caught Rahul Gandhi at Boston in 2001, with white powder and $160,000, says Subramanian Swamy |
Sujay Ghosh, July 22, 2015, New Delhi, NewsCrunch
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said in Jodhpur on Tuesday that FBI had caught Rahul Gandhi in Boston in 2001, with white powder and $160,000. Zee News quoted Subramanian Swamy saying FBI let him go after Vajpayee government intervened.
This is an accusation Subramanian Swamy has repeated made over the years. Though there are variants of this charge, this is what happened with Rahul Gandhi in 2001 at Boston, according to him.
Rahul Gandhi was arrested at Boston airport with 160,000 dollars in cash, which he had not declared. He was accompanied by his Colombian girlfriend Veronique Cartelli, a passport holder of Spain, and a daughter of a drug baron. Besides illegal cash, the couple was also carrying white powder.
They were detained for nine hours, when the Vajpayee Government told NSA Condolezza Rice that the issue would affect India-US relations. The US then let Rahul Gandhi go. Though the incident has been recorded, it is personal in nature and cannot be accessed under the US Freedom of Information Law.
Subramanian Swamy says he had written to Rahul Gandhi seeking permission to access the information, but there has been no response.
What bits of these claims are true or are they a part of an urban legend that get narrated whenever Subramanian Swamy feels bored?
There seems to have been an incident involving Rahul Gandhi at Boston airport in 2001.
Quoting sources in New Delhi, The Hindu reported on September 30, 2001, saying FBI had detained Rahul Gandhi for about an hour at the Boston airport in the last week of that month.
Rahul Gandhi was reportedly travelling from Boston to Washington when he was detained. The FBI agents did not let him go even after verifying his travel documents and learning that he was the son of a former Indian Prime Minister.
Sources told The Hindu that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke to the Indian Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, who intervened and sorted out the matter.
This was in the US reeling under the shock of 9/11 that had taken place just two weeks earlier. Stopping anyone for questioning for an hour was routine.
Congress leaders made an issue issue out of it for a different reason. As Rahul Gandhi was under security cover, protocol required SPG to inform their counterparts in the US about his movements. As it had not been done, Congress saw it as a lapse in Rahul Gandhi's security.
However, the same Hindu report had inputs from its Washington correspondent, who said the Indian Embassy had no knowledge of the incident nor had Ambassador Lalit Mansingh been asked to intervene.
It also said there was no security lapse as Rahul Gandhi opted out of SPG cover while in the US.
The Hindu report unfortunately is quiet on the Colombian girl friend or the drugs or the suitcase with $160,000.