Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday led the party's charge against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament over the evolving Adani row.
Following a report by Hindenburg Research that alleged that Gautam Adani-led Adani Group was engaged in a number of corrupt practices and had inflated the value of its businesses artificially, the Congress and the Opposition have mounted an offensive on Modi, to whom Adani is said to have a close relationship.
Speaking in Lok Sabha, Rahul linked Adani's meteoric rise to Modi's coming to power and said "magic" happened after 2014 that propelled the businessman from the 609th to the second spot on the global rich list.
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Rahul also produced photographs of Modi in a plane with Adani and stepping off a plane with Adani logo. Speaker Om Birla disapproved of the act which was meant to show the alleged proximity of Adani and Modi.
What did Rahul Gandhi say on Adani row?
Rahul made a barrage of allegations, including that Modi helped Adani bag overseas contracts in various sectors.
Posing questions for Modi, Rahul asked how many times has he travelled together on a foreign trip with Adani.
He said, "How many times did Adani ji join you later on a visit? How many times Adani ji travelled to a country immediately after you visited the country? How many times Adani ji bagged a contract in a foreign country after your visit there?"
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Rahul asked how much money Adani has given to the BJP in the last 20 years, including through electoral bonds.
Rahul also hit out at Modi for slamming the Opposition over its criticism of the Rafale deal by allegedly overlooking the capabilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
He said, "Yesterday the prime minister said at HAL that we hurled wrong allegations. But in reality, HAL's contract of 126 aircraft went to Anil Ambani, who then went bankrupt."
Rahul, who just completed his over 4,000 km Bharat Jodo Yatra, said people asked him how Adani got into so many businesses and succeeded, as well as what is the nature of his relationship with the prime minister.
He said, "From Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Himachal Pradesh, we have been listening one name everywhere 'Adani'. Across the entire country, it's just 'Adani', 'Adani', 'Adani'..."
Rahul said that during the yatra people also asked him how Adani's net worth increased from USD 8 billion to 140 billion between 2014 and 2022.
He said, "The (Adani-Modi) relationship began many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat CM. When most of India was asking questions of the prime minister, was against the PM (then CM Narendra Modi), one man stood shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi, he was loyal to the prime minister and helped Mr Modi construct the idea of a resurgent Gujarat."
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Adani was the backbone in setting up a group of businessmen in Gujarat, he said, adding that the result was a tremendous expansion of Adani's businesses in Gujarat.
Rahul said, "Then the real magic starts, when the PM comes to Delhi and the real magic begins in 2014. In 2014, he was in 609th spot on the list of richest people and climbed to the second spot."
Rahul also raised the issue of the report by US-based Hindenburg Research, saying it alleged that Adani has shell companies abroad. Pointing out that Adani works in strategic sectors, he said the government must find out about these shell companies as to who controls them as this is a national security issue.
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Citing various examples, Rahul alleged that the Modi government tweaked rules in favour of Adani and said that the clause that no one without any prior experience would be involved in the development of airports was done away with.
He said, "This rule was changed by the government and Adani was given six airports. After that India's most strategic, profitable airport, Mumbai Airport, as taken away from GVK using agencies like the CBI, ED, and was given to Adani by the government of India."
"There should be a case study by business schools such as Harvard on the relationship between business and politics, India is a case study...the PM should get a gold medal in this.
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"Adani never made drones while HAL used to do it and other companies do it. PM goes to Israel and Adani gets the contract... They have four defence firms and had not done this work before, small arms, sniper rifles, all are made by Adani."
Rahul alleged that be it maintenance of aircraft, small arms or drones, the whole India-Israel defence ties have been handed over to Adani.
Adani group has a 30 per cent market share in the airports business and also controls 90 per cent of Israel-India defence cooperation, he claimed.
Rahul also cited the example of Australia, saying PM Modi visited that country and with "magic" USD 1 billion was given to Adani by the State Bank of India.
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Gandhi also listed the examples of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka visits of the prime minister to claim that following the trips Adani got contracts there.
In June 2022, the chairman of Sri Lanka's Ceylon electricity board informed a parliamentary hearing that President Rajapaksa told him that PM Modi "pressured" him to give the wind power contract to Adani, Gandhi alleged.
This is not India's foreign policy but a policy to enhance Adani's businesses, the Congress leader said.
"I was asked by the people during the Yatra as to why LIC's money is being put in the Adani group. They also asked Adani's shares which are volatile, why LIC's funds are being put in it. I want to say, how do the government and PM help Adani -- thousands of crores of (money from) public sector banks is given to Adani," he said.
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Government asks Rahul of proof of allegations
Rahul's remarks drew a sharp response from the treasury benches, with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju asking him not to level "wild allegations" and furnish proof of his claims.
The opposition has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the allegations of fraud and manipulation made by Hindenburg Research against Adani's companies that triggered an unprecedented stock crash. The group has denied the charges.
The treasury benches repeatedly asked Gandhi to authenticate his claims, saying that such allegations cannot be levelled against the prime minister without documentary evidence.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed Rahul's allegations 'baseless' and 'shameless'. It also highlighted the Congress party's record on corruption.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress itself was involved in "big scams" which "tarnished" the image of the country.
He said, "Rahul Gandhi made baseless, shameless and reckless allegations against PM Modi...The Congress and its leaders were involved in all those big scams which tarnished the image of India."
Prasad also referred to the National Herald case and the AgustaWestland scam case to attack the Gandhi family.
"It's time to revive the memory of Rahul Gandhi on corruption," said Prasad.
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Prasad alleged that Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia Gandhi and her son-in-law Robert Vadra "are on bail".
The Congress party is based on the twin pillars of corruption and protecting the corrupt, he said.
"Corruption and giving protection to the corrupt have been the history of Rahul Gandhi and his family," Prasad said.
(With PTI inputs)
