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Kharge attacks Modi, asks him to stop projecting himself as anti-graft crusader
The attack came a day after Modi said the government’s war on corruption has rattled some parties and forced them to band together to create false narratives about India
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday lashed out at Narendra Modi over the allegations of fraud against the Adani Group, fugitive economic offenders, and corruption charges against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments and leaders while asking the Prime Minster to stop projecting himself as an anti-corruption crusader.
The attack came a day after Modi said the government’s war on corruption has rattled some parties and forced them to band together to create false narratives about India and damage its democratic institutions. Modi added opposition parties have launched a campaign to save the corrupt.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, Kharge asked Modi who owns ₹20,000 crore in Adani’s shell companies. “Are Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Jatin Mehta, etc members of your ‘Save Corrupt Campaign’?’” he asked, referring to the fugitive economic offenders. “Are you the convenor of this alliance?”
Kharge asked Modi why was the BJP government accused of asking “40% commission” in Karnataka. The row over the commission hit the headlines last year after the death of a contractor. The contractor accused BJP leader and former minister KS Eshwarappa of seeking a 40% commission for a government project.
Kharge asked Modi why is the BJP part of the number one corrupt government in Meghalaya, alluding to Union minister Amit Shah’s statement in the run-up to the assembly polls in the state. Shah in February called the state’s National People’s Party (NPP)-led government the most corrupt in the country. The BJP later joined the alliance government in Meghalaya when the NPP fell short of the majority.
Kharge asked whether BJP leaders were not involved in the Sanjivani Cooperative scam in Rajasthan, the poshan scam in Madhya Pradesh, and Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) or public distribution corporation scam in Chhattisgarh.
The Congress last year sought Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s resignation saying the Comptroller and Auditor General outlined how corruption took place in the supplementary nutrition or poshan scheme.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has repeatedly accused Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of involvement in the Sanjivani scam involving crores of depositors’ money.
The NAN scam related to substandard rice came to light in 2015 when the BJP ruled Chhattisgarh.
Kharge said the Enforcement Directorate has been mostly used against the opposition leaders and many of them facing charges have been let off once after joining the BJP.
He dared Modi to constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and hold an open press conference for the first time in nine years as the Prime Minister while alluding to his scripted interviews.
The opposition parties have been pushing the government to set up a JPC to investigate the allegations of fraud against the Adani Group.
There was no immediate response from the BJP. The copy will be updated once the party responds.
Modi on Tuesday underlined the government’s zero-tolerance for corruption and said the action taken was proof that when the BJP comes to power, corruption subsides. He said under the Prevention Of Money Laundering Act, his government attached property worth ₹1.10 lakh crore, much higher than ₹5,000 crore between 2004 and 2014, when the Congress was in power.
The BJP stormed back to power in 2014 with the full majority on the back of the promise of ending corruption. The issue of graft returned as the central electoral issue after a series of corruption scandals rocked India when the previous Congress-led government was in power.
Modi’s attack on opposition parties came as they have coalesced into a group demanding a probe into allegations against the Adani Group and alleged proximity between the ruling dispensation and the conglomerate.
Opposition parties disrupted the ongoing budget session of Parliament with a demand for JPC and have held protests in Delhi.
Fourteen opposition parties also approached the Supreme Court over the alleged misuse of central federal agencies. The opposition also set aside differences to denounce Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha last week following his conviction in a case of criminal defamation.
