Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (L) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Seeking to turn tables on the Prime Minister using his own remarks on industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, Congress on Wednesday said the attack on his 'friends' indicated that times are 'changing' and that Narendra Modi's chair is 'shaking'.
It also questioned why the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other agencies are not taking action against the industrialists if they have given Congress 'truck loads of black money' as alleged by the Prime Minister.
In an election rally in Telangana's Vemulawada, Modi asked Congress to explain why it has stopped raising the ‘Ambani-Adani’ issue as its 'Shehzada' (Rahul Gandhi) used to do for the past five years.
He said, “ever since elections have been announced, these people have stopped abusing Ambani-Adani. I want to ask from Telangana soil, let the Shehzada (Rahul Gandhi) announce, how much has been lifted from Ambani-Adani. Has tempo loads of notes (currency) reached the Congress?”
“What deal has been reached so that abusing Ambani-Adani has stopped overnight...It means you have received some tempo loads of 'chori ka maal' (loot),” Modi said.
Rahul had made a reference to Adani in his rally in Jharkhand on Tuesday where he said people have to decide whether they would want to have a "Modi-Adani sarkar' or a government of Dalits, backwards, farmers, tribals and the poor that provides jobs and create a large number of 'lakhpatis'.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge led the counterattack saying, “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. This shows that Modi-ji's chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the result.”
In Rae Bareli, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The PM calls my brother 'Shehzada' (prince) but he is 'Shehenshah' (emperor)...He is giving clarifications because people are seeing that the entire country's property has been given to some billionaires..."
Sharing Rahul's video, Congress Secretary (Administration) Gurdeep Sappal asked whether Modi's 'Titanic is sinking' and why he was pushing his "best friends" off the sinking ship. "Modi believes this information (Adani-Ambani giving money) to be true. That is why now Modi should also tell the country when is he sending ED to the houses of Adani and Ambani? When will they dismiss those officers who informed the Prime Minister about the tempos filled with money but did not seize them?" he said.