Rahul Gandhi questions surge in Adani's fortunes under Modi govt

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Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speaks in the Lok Sabha at the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address during the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on February 7, 2023. | Photo Credit: ANI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday linked the massive rise in the business fortunes and personal wealth of businessman Gautam Adani to the Modi government coming to power in 2014, as he launched a sharp attack on the BJP dispensation over the Adani issue.

His charges in Lok Sabha drew a sharp response from the treasury benches, with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju asking him to not level "wild allegations" and furnish proof of his claims.

Speaker Om Birla also asked him to focus on the President's address and disapproved of the Congress leader displaying a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Adani in the business tycoon's plane to highlight their alleged proximity.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Lok Sabha as the first opposition speaker, Mr. Gandhi also questioned the Agniveer scheme for recruiting defence personnel claiming that youths aspiring to be in the army were not on the same page as the government on the scheme.

Senior officers have said the scheme will weaken the army, he claimed.

Mr. Gandhi said he learned a lot during his recently concluded Bharat Jodo Yatra and got the opportunity to listen to the inner voice of India.

He said the highlights of what people told him during the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir march were the issues of unemployment, price rise, and farmers' problems. Adani's name was also frequently heard from people across states as they wondered how he is successful in every business he enters, Mr. Gandhi claimed.

The Adani Group is in the eye of a storm following the allegations of fraud and stock manipulation by a U.S.-based short-selling firm. The company's stocks have been hammered even though the group has rejected the charges.