Rahul Gandhi hits back at Modi on Adani-Ambani jibe, says PM is ‘little scared’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi gestures during his video message addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: X/@RahulGandhi via PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on May 8 dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get an inquiry done by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after Mr. Modi had accused the Congress of having a nexus with “Ambani and Adani”.

Mr. Modi, addressing an election rally in Telangana, asked if the Congress had received “tempo loads of black money” from the two businessmen since Mr. Gandhi stopped “abusing” them and had gone silent.

Also read | PM Modi is targeting his ‘friends’ as his chair has started ‘shaking’, says Congress

Hitting back at Mr. Modi, Mr. Gandhi released a video in which he asked if receiving money in tempos was “a personal experience” and asserted that the Prime Minister got “a little scared”.

Addressing an election meeting in Telangana’s famous temple town of Vemulawada, the Prime Minister said the Congress owed an explanation to the people of the nation why it had stopped raising the issue of Ambani and Adani.

Without naming Mr. Gandhi, he said the Congress’ ‘Shehzada’ (prince) used to chant the names of “five industrialists” to spread false narratives in the last five years against the BJP but had gone silent after the elections were announced.

“I want to ask from Telangana soil, let the Shehzada announce, how much has been lifted from Ambani-Adani. Has tempo loads of money reached the Congress? What deal has been arrived at, that abusing Ambani-Adani has stopped overnight?” Mr. Modi asked.

‘Something is fishy’

“Certainly, something is fishy. For five years, [they] abused Adani-Ambani and it stopped overnight. It means you have received some tempo loads of ‘chori ka maal’ [loot]...Kaale dhan ki kitni boriya bharkar ke rupaye maare hai [how many sacks of black money you have taken] You have to answer the nation,” the Prime Minister added.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Gandhi released a 46-second video in which he asked whether Mr. Modi was speaking from his “personal experience” about money being sent by businessmen.

“Modi ji, are you little scared? Normally you talk about Adani and Ambani in closed doors, but for the first time you have talked about Adani and Ambani in public. You also know that they give money in a tempo. Is it your personal experience?” Mr. Gandhi asked, adding, “Do one thing — send the CBI, ED to them and carry out a thorough investigation and don’t be scared”.

“The country knows who is the driver and helper of the BJP’s tempo of corruption,” he added in a post on X.

The former Congress chief also asserted that “the money that Mr. Modi has given to the two businessmen, the Congress will give the same amount of money to the people of India through the various schemes that the party has promised”.

‘Times are changing’

“The 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 Modi ji’s chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the results,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.

Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said after April 3, Mr. Gandhi had mentioned “Adani 103 times and Ambani more than 30 times in his speeches”.

“The tide of this election has turned so violently that the “Pappa” of “Hum Do Hamare Do” is turning on his own children. The man who collected ₹8,200 crore of Electoral Bonds for his party — a scam so egregious that even the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional — is today levelling allegations on others,” Mr. Ramesh said.

“Defeat is a foregone conclusion. The Prime Minister is now spooked even by his own shadow,” he added.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Vadra claimed that the Prime Minister knew that people now understand the reality that he had handed over all wealth to big businessmen and his government waived loans worth ₹16 lakh crore given to big billionaires in the past 10 years.

“Today he [Mr. Modi] is saying Rahul does not take the name of Adani, Ambani....He does so every day. He brings their truth in front of you every day. We say every day that they [the BJP] have a nexus with industrialists. You must understand that Prime Minister Modi has waived loans worth ₹16 lakh crore given to big billionaires. Whose money is this? This is not Modi ji’s money. That is the country’s money,” she said at public meetings in Rae Bareli.