Senior Congress Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asked four questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while linking the meteoric rise in the business fortunes of billionaire Gautam Adani to the BJP government coming to power in 2014. Amid objection from the treasury benches for levelling “wild allegations”, Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the government over the Adani issue as he spoke on the motion of thanks to the President’s address.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that Adani helped PM Modi to construct the idea of a “resurgent Gujarat” and later profited from his elevation as the country’s prime minister.
“Relationships begin many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat’s Chief Minister…one man stood shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi, he was loyal to the PM and helped Mr Modi construct the idea of a ‘Resurgent Gujarat’. The real magic began when PM Modi reached the national capital in 2014,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He also mentioned his experience from the recently-concluded Bharat Jodo Yatra to highlight the perceived dominance of Gautam Adani in many fields.
“From Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Himachal Pradesh we have been listening to one name everywhere ‘Adani’. All across the country, it is just ‘Adani, Adani, Adani’…people used to ask me that if Adani enters any business, it never fails,” he said adding that the youth have asked him how has Adani’s net worth risen multiple times.
“The youth has asked us that Adani who is now in eight to ten sectors, how is it that his net worth has risen from USD 8 billion in 2014 to USD 140 billion in 2022. It was only Adani who talked about bringing the apples of Kashmir and Himachal to the ports, airports, and even the roads we are walking on,” he added.
Rahul’s sharp attack on the Modi government came amid the Opposition parties’ demand for discussion over investment by LIC, public sector banks, and financial institutions “in companies losing market value, endangering the savings of crores of Indians” following a report by a US-based short seller Hindenburg Research which made allegations against some companies of Adani group.
During his speech, Gandhi asked the prime minister to provide answers to his queries regarding the Adani issue.
Here are the four questions that Rahul Gandhi asked to PM Modi in Lok Sabha:
- How many times have you and Adani travelled abroad together?
- How many times did Adani join you on your foreign trips?
- How many times Adani went to that country immediately after your foreign trip and got a contract?
- How much money did Adani give to BJP in electoral bonds?
