Adani bribe row: Congress attacks PM, BJP hits back

In a sharp attack on the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Narendra Modi was hand in glove with Gautam Adani in corruption and demanded the arrest of the industrialist after he was indicted in a bribery case in the United States. Addressing a press conference, Rahul Gandhi said Adani, despite being involved in a Rs 2,000 crore scam and multiple others, was running scot-free as he was being protected by PM Modi.

"It is now pretty clear and established that Adani has broken both Indian law and American law. I am wondering why Adani is running around as a free man in this country. It is a vindication of what we have been saying. The PM is protecting Adani and the PM is involved in corruption with Adani," the Congress MP said.

BJP hits back

The party spokesperson Sambit Patra attacked Rahul Gandhi for attempting to tarnish the Prime Minister's image. He said the states that allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group for solar power deals, as mentioned in the US indictment, were ruled by the Opposition. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Patra said, "None of the four states mentioned in US charges against Adani Group had a BJP CM. Congress and its allies were in power in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu." Taking potshots at Rahul Gandhi, Patra said it was the Leader of the Opposition's usual tactic to attack India and structures that defend the country.

"Rahul Gandhi had raked up the Rafale issue in 2019 in a similar fashion. He had claimed that a big revelation would be made. During the Covid pandemic, he holds press conferences in a similar fashion about vaccines. However, he had to apologise before the Supreme Court later," the Puri MP said.