PM Narendra Modi is in Telangana to campaign for the Lok Sabha election
In a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned today why the Congress leader had gone silent on his "Ambani-Adani" offensive since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.
"For five years, Congress's shehzade kept chanting one thing. After his Rafael issue got grounded, he started a new chant. Five industrialists, five industrialists, five industrialists. Gradually, he started saying Ambani-Adani. But ever since the elections were announced, he stopped abusing Ambani and Adani. Today, I want to ask from Telangana soil, he must declare how much money they have taken from Ambani, Adani? Was there a deal? Why did you stop abusing Ambani and Adani overnight? Zaroor daal mein kucchh kaala hai (something is wrong). You abused them for five years and then it stopped overnight?" the Prime Minister said at a rally in Telangana.
The Prime Minister's counterstrike is significant because Mr Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Narendra Modi government of favouring top industrialists. The Congress leader has also said that while the BJP government has made 22 Indians "arabpati (billionaires)", the Congress aims to make crores of people "lakhpati" if it comes to power in these elections.
The location of the Prime Minister's retort is also significant. Telangana, a Congress-ruled state, recently signed several MoUs with the Adani Group totalling an investment of Rs 12,400 crore across various sectors.
The BJP has flagged Mr Gandhi's repeated verbal attacks on wealth creators and top industrialists. In fact, former Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh, who recently switched to the BJP, has said the party leadership forced him to speak against billionaire Gautam Adani.
"I was the one who addressed a press conference against Mr Adani. But after a SEBI probe gave a clean chit to the Adani Group, I told the senior party leaders to drop the matter. But they didn't stop," he said in an exclusive interview with NDTV.
In his Telangana address, the Prime Minister said Mr Gandhi had a habit of raking up controversies in election season and recounted how he had taken up the issue of alleged corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal ahead of the 2019 general election.
Responding to the Prime Minister's remarks, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "When the Prime Minister plays a full toss, he brings up pointless subjects like these. I am challenging him to hit a full toss on employment, corruption and atrocities against women and the fact that you are protecting those who commit such atrocities."
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