Stop image makeover by calling yourself anti-corruption crusader: Kharge attacks PM Modi
NEW DELHI,MAR 29 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, accusing the BJP stalwart of heading an alliance of corrupt individuals while setting central agencies after Opposition leaders.
In a series of tweets, Kharge repeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s charge against billionaire Gautam Adani’s shell companies and questioned who had invested Rs 20,000 crore in them.
“Who owns Rs 20,000 Cr in Adani’s Shell Cos? Are Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, Jatin Mehta etc. members of your “Bhrashtachari Bhagao Abhiyan”? Are you the convenor of this alliance? Stop this image makeover by calling yourself the Anti-Corruption Crusader,” Kharge tweeted in Hindi.
The Congress chief went on to say, “First do some soul searching: Why is your government accused of 40% commission in Karnataka? Why are you involved in the No. 1 corrupt government in Meghalaya? Are BJP leaders not involved in Sanjivani Cooperative scam in Rajasthan, Poshan scam in MP or Naan scam in Chhattisgarh?”
Na Jaanch, Na Jawab: Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of investing public money in Adani companies
He challenged the prime minister to constitute a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Adani matter and address a press conference for the first time since coming to power at the Centre.
Kharge’s invective comes a day after leaders of 18 Opposition parties met at his residence in Delhi and resolved to fight against the ruling BJP together. At the meeting, Opposition leaders raised the issue of their demand for a JPC probe into the Adani Group controversy and also former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
In his first press conference since being convicted in a defamation case and subsequent disqualification as a member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi claimed that there are deep ties between PM Modi and Gautam Adani.
He also asked, “There is a question, Rs 20,000 crore have suddenly arrived in Mr Adani’s shell companies, where has this money come from? Some of these companies are defence companies. Whose money is being spent on our drone and missile development? Why is the defence ministry not asking this question?”
While Gandhi did not explicitly disclose the source of this information, his charges coincided with a recent Financial Times report that analysed India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) remittance data and reported that almost half of all foreign direct investment into the Adani group in recent years came from offshore entities linked to his family.
-PTI
