Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got a taste of his own medicine on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the grand old party of entering into a “secret deal” with industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.“How many sacks of black money has he received?” Modi asked, referring to Gandhi as Congress Shehzada.
“What deal has been struck? Overnight, you have stopped abusing Adani and Ambani. There is definitely something fishy,” the PM said at an election rally in Telangana.Gandhi has consistently questioned Modi’s links with the tycoons and criticised policies he says have favoured wealthy businessmen over the poor, resulting in widening inequality levels in the country.Though Modi accused him of being “silent” on the industrialist duo in this election season, Gandhi has actually been repeating the charge this time, too, particularly against Adani. At a campaign rally in Jharkhand
on Tuesday, Gandhi spoke about the need for greater representation for tribals and said, “The BJP says you are vanvasi and they give all the forest land to Adani.”Modi’s allegations, however, came as a surprise as he rarely mentions the names of any industrialist in his campaign speeches. On Wednesday, however, the gloves came off.
“Have ‘tempo loads of notes (money)’ reached the Congress that it has stopped targeting Ambani-Adani?” Modi asked, adding “let the Congress Shehzada announce, how much has been lifted from Ambani-Adani”.Gandhi was swift to hit back. In a video message, he said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should probe if Adani and Ambani sent money in tempo, and wondered whether the PM was talking about his own personal experience. “I assure the nation once more – the money Narendra Modi has given to them, we will give to the poor…They made 22 arabpatis, we will make crores of lakhpatis,” he said.
Reacting to the statements, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “Times are changing. Friends are no longer friends…! After completion of three phases of elections, today the Prime Minister has started attacking his own friends. It is becoming clear that Modiji’s chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the result.”