Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre over allegations of fraud connected to the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group, and reiterated that he will continue to raise questions on the industrialist’s links with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Kolar district where, during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign, he made a remark that led to a defamation conviction by a Gujarat court and, as a result, disqualification as Wayanad’s MP last month. The order on his appeal against the conviction is likely to be heard on April 20.
Raking up the Adani issue at the ‘Jai Bharat’ rally, Gandhi said: “They (BJP) do not want me to talk in Parliament. They are afraid that I will raise questions on Adani. They disqualified me from Parliament, thinking that I will remain silent and I will be scared. I am not scared. I will again ask the Prime Minister.”
He added: “Whose ₹20,000 crore was in Adani shell companies? Until I get answers, I won’t stop. You can disqualify me or imprison me. It won’t make a difference.”
The Congress and several other opposition parties have continuously attacked the BJP and disrupted the Budget session of Parliament, seeking a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on allegations of fraud and stock price manipulation against the Adani Group by American securities research firm Hindenburg Research in January. The conglomerate has denied the charges.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress and several other opposition parties have continuously attacked the BJP and disrupted the Budget session of Parliament, seeking a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on allegations of fraud and stock price manipulation against the Adani Group by American securities research firm Hindenburg Research in January. The conglomerate has denied the charges.
{{/usCountry}}Gandhi said “Adani is a symbol of corruption”.
“I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi: what is your relation with Adani who is being given airports in India? Rules are changed for him to award him contracts. Why are the rules being changed?” the former Congress president said while addressing his first rally in the poll-bound state.
The Adani Group has no expertise to run airports, which is a prerequisite for operating them but yet they were handed over to the business group, he added.
Gandhi also accused the Centre of not providing due representation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and sought release of the 2011 caste census.
Underlining the need to make the data public, he said if everyone has to become part of the development of the country, it is necessary to find out the population size of each community.
The former Parliamentarian also attacked the Basavaraj Bommai-led government in Karnataka over corruption cases, including allegations by contractors and private schools that they were forced to pay “40% commission” and irregularities in recruitment of police sub-inspectors.
He alleged that the contractors’ association had written a letter to Modi on the issue of “40% commission” but he remained silent, which appeared to be a “confession” that there was corruption.
HT reached out to BJP leaders for a comment but did not get one immediately.
Expressing confidence that the Congress will come to power in Karnataka, Gandhi said the new government would formally approve its poll promises in the first cabinet meeting itself.
Among the poll “guarantees” announced by the Congress are ‘Gruha Jyothi’ to provide 200 units of free electricity to all every month, ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ to provide a monthly financial assistance of ₹2,000 to every woman head of a family, ‘Anna Bhagya’ offering 10 kg of rice monthly to each member of a BPL family and ‘Yuva Nidhi’ to give ₹3,000 per month to unemployed graduates and ₹1,500 per month to diploma holders for two years.
“These schemes will be implemented on the first day in the first cabinet meeting itself,” Gandhi said.