In March of the previous year, the Income Tax Department made a significant move by issuing a demand of approximately Rs 80 crore from Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Priyanka Gandhi. This demand stemmed from assessment orders concerning his income tax returns filed between 2010 and 2021. Government sources indicate that this action was prompted by suspicions that Vadra had failed to declare his actual income for more than a decade. The amount demanded encompasses not only the tax on the undisclosed income but also includes penalties and accrued interest.

The largest portion of the demand, amounting to Rs 24.16 crore, pertains to the assessment year 2019-20. In response to these assessment orders, Vadra has filed challenges before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), where his appeals are currently under consideration. Additionally, government sources have referenced discrepancies in Vadra's income declarations, as highlighted in Priyanka Gandhi's election affidavit. Notably, Vadra reported an annual income of only Rs 15.09 lakh for the financial year 2023-24, alongside reported incomes of Rs 9.35 lakh and Rs 9.03 lakh in the preceding two financial years.

Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “The people in the country want to ask a few questions from the ‘fake Gandhis’. This affidavit (of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) is a confession of the corruption that these ‘fake Gandhis’ and their brother-in-law Robert Vadra have been doing. The declared net worth of Robert Vadra is lower than what the IT department is demanding.” 

Bhatia further raised concerns about Robert Vadra's declared net worth, citing data from the Income Tax Department. According to Bhatia, the total tax demand raised by the I-T department, based on Vadra’s returns filed between 2010 and 2021, amounts to approximately ₹75 crore.

Vadra, however, issued a statement, calling the BJP’s “tactics” as “diversionary” and said he was ready to face any investigating agency. “The BJP wants to digress from main issues hence they are raising this issue. People are aware of the truth. I have not done anything wrong and I am ready to face any agency,” Vadra said in a statement.

Robert Vadra has consistently been viewed as a significant liability in Priyanka Gandhi's political career. Since joining the Congress party in 2019 as General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, it has taken her nearly five years to enter the electoral arena.