Robert Vadra: I would never leave India, didn't need Priyanka to enhance my life

April 14, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 14: Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has said that he did not need Priyanka to enhance his life.

"I didn't need my wife Priyanka to enhance my life. I have enough, I have always had enough. My father gave me enough. I have been educated enough to sustain in all types of situations," Robert Vadra told ANI.

Vadra, who is under scanner for his land deals in Haryana, also said that he would never leave India. "I am born and brought up here. I would never leave my country even if I am humiliated. No matter what the government says, I have the ability to sustain and to absorb. I have a very strong and good family which gives me strength," he said.

A one-man commission is probing Robert Vadra's land deals in Haryana. The CAG had blamed Haryana's previous Congress government, led by then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for showing undue favours to Robert Vadra, in his multi-million rupee controversial land deal with realty giant DLF.

When asked whether he would take the plunge into active politics, Vadra said, "I would not say never, let's see what future has in store for me."

Robert Vadra has campaigned for his brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi and his mother-in-law Sonia Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh but has never made campaign speeches or taken part in political meetings.

When asked whether he planned to change that strategy, Vadra replied, "When people will call for me, when they think I can make some change, then only will I think of joining politics. I understand my responsibilities. I know with which family I am associated, what they have done for generations. I have to make sure that I respect it."

'Modi govt will soon face a revolt'

Asserting that the people of the nation are wise enough to comprehend the veracity of the present circumstances enveloping the country, Robert Vadra on Thursday said that in the near future the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government "will witness a major revolt."

"I wish the government all the best, but I think people will revolt against it as they know what is right and what is wrong," he said.

He further said, "We are a diverse nation and have to be neutral in all the spheres and treat people equally regardless of their religion. We have to learn to accept all sorts of opinions."

Speaking about freedom to express opinions in campuses and elsewhere, Vadra said, "I don't say go against the nation. I am a proud Indian and I will abide by the norms but at the same time I have thoughts, I have ideology. I have the right to decide (what is) wrong and right. We can't dictate to the youth. They are our future. We have to listen to them, understand them but we cannot threaten them or intimidate them."

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Average age of school children picking up drugs, smoking habit in 10 Indian cities around 13 years!

News Network

December 13,2025

New Delhi: School-going children are picking up drug and smoking habits and engaging in consumption of alcohol, with the average age of introduction to such harmful substances found to be around 13 years, suggesting a need for earlier interventions as early as primary school, a multi-city survey by AIIMS-Delhi said.

The findings also showed substance use increased in higher grades, with grade XI/XII students two times more likely to report use of substances when compared with grade VIII students. This emphasised the importance of continued prevention and intervention through middle and high school.

The study led by Dr Anju Dhawan of AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, published in the National Medical Journal of India this month, looks at adolescent substance use across diverse regions.

The survey included 5,920 students from classes 8, 9, 11 and 12 in urban government, private and rural schools across 10 cities -- Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. The data were collected between May 2018 and June 2019.

The average age of initiation for any substance was 12.9 (2.8) years. It was lowest for inhalants (11.3 years) followed by heroin (12.3 years) and opioid pharmaceuticals (without prescription; 12.5 years).

Overall, 15.1 per cent of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3 per cent reported past year use, and 7.2 per cent reported use in the past month of any substance, the study found.

The most common substances used in the past year, after tobacco (4 per cent) and alcohol (3.8 per cent), were opioids (2.8 per cent), followed by cannabis (2 per cent) and inhalants (1.9 per cent). Use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids was most common among opioid users (90.2 per cent).

On being asked, 'Do you think this substance is easily available for a person of your age' separately for each substance category, nearly half the students (46.3 per cent) endorsed that tobacco products and more than one-third of the students (36.5 per cent) agreed that a person of their age can easily procure alcohol products.

Similarly, for Bhang (21.9 per cent), ganja/charas (16.1 per cent), inhalants (15.2 per cent), sedatives (13.7 per cent), opium and heroin (10 per cent each), the students endorsed that these can be easily procured.

About 95 per cent of the children, irrespective of their grade, agreed with the statement that 'drug use is harmful'.

The rates of substance use (any) among boys were significantly higher than those of girls for substance use (ever), use in the past year and use in the past 30 days. Compared to grade VIII students, grade IX students were more likely, and grade XI/XII students were twice as likely to have used any substance (ever).

The likelihood of past-year use of any substance was also higher for grade IX students and for grade XI/XII students as compared to grade VIII students.

About 40 per cent of students mentioned that they had a family member who used tobacco or alcohol each. The use of cannabis (any product) and opioid (any product) by a family member was reported by 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of students, respectively, while the use of other substances, such as inhalants/sedatives by family was 2-3 per cent, the study found.

A relatively smaller percentage of students reported use of tobacco or alcohol among peers as compared to among family members, while a higher percentage reported inhalants, sedatives, cannabis or opioid use among peers.

Children using substances (past year) compared to non-users reported significantly higher any substance use by their family members and peers.

There were 25.7 per cent students who replied 'yes' to the question 'conflicts/fights often occur in your family'. Most students also replied affirmatively to 'family members are aware of how their time is being spent' and 'damily members are aware of with whom they spend their time'.

Comments