Congress MP Rahul Gandhi attacked prime minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Parliament Wednesday on multiple issues, including the controversy surrounding industrialist Gautam Adani. During his fiery speech Gandhi claimed close links between the prime minister and Adani, and showed a photograph of the two together, prompting Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to warn the Congress leader ‘BJP will retaliate… will show poster of Rajasthan CM’.
“No posters please, if you will show posters then this side (BJP) will show poster of Rajasthan’s CM (Ashok Gehlot… with Gautam Adani). This is not appropriate,” Birla declared.
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Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at the government over the Adani-Hindenburg row as Parliament discussed the ‘motion of thanks’ for president Droupadi Murmu’s joint address.
The Congress leader – fresh from leading the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, his party’s mega-outreach effort ahead of the 2024 general election – said he had ‘heard only one businessman’s name… from Kanniyakumari (in Tamil Nadu, where the march began) to Kashmir…’
“From Tamil Nadu (to) Kerala to Himachal Pradesh… we have been listening (to) one name everywhere – ‘Adani’. Across the entire country, it’s just ‘Adani, Adani, Adani…'”
“Their (PM Modi and Adani) relationship began many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister… one man stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Modi… he was loyal and helped Mr Modi construct the idea of ‘Resurgent Gujarat’. Real magic began when Modi reached Delhi in 2014 (when he became prime minister for the first time),” Gandhi said.
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The Congress MP also alleged the government had changed certain laws in favour of Adani, who is from the prime minister’s home state of Gujarat.
“There is a rule that those who do not have prior experience in airports cannot be involved in development of airports. This rule was changed by government when Adani was given six airports.”
“After that, India’s most profitable airport – Mumbai – was hijacked… using agencies like CBI and ED… and was given to Adani,” he said.