Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
As Apple sent warning messages to Opposition leaders and journalists about a snoop attempt by "state-sponsored attackers," senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed on Tuesday that the Modi government is engaging in "distraction politics" as the Opposition has put the Adani Group in a tight spot, from which it cannot escape.
Telling a story of an Indian king who faced protests but remained unaffected because his heart wasn't aligned with the people, Gandhi asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegiance lies with Adani, and the truth is that power is in the hands of someone else.
"As soon as Adani is touched, intelligence agencies and snooping are deployed," he told a press conference. He alleged that the power structure in the country has shifted, and Gautam Adani is now the foremost figure in the country, even ahead of Modi, though the prevailing perception had been different.
Rahul added, "The hierarchy in the country is No. 1 - Adani, No. 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and No. 3 Home Minister Amit Shah," after Opposition leaders went public with the messages they received from Apple.
In his criticism of the government on this issue, he emphasized that the entire Opposition is well aware of what's happening, and it's all linked to Adani.
"We are not scared. You can do as much phone tapping as you want, I don't care. If you want to take my phone, I will give it to you. Very few of us are fighting against such monopolies and we will continue doing so and not relent," Rahul said.
Alleging that the country's institutions are collapsing, he contended that the BJP's financial system is directly connected to the Adanis. Rahul also expressed that the issue cannot be resolved solely by changing the government; it requires a more profound solution.
"This is not just a political fight. This is not just about going and winning an election. One step is winning an election and I am confident that you will see the results of the next state elections, but, it is a deeper problem. We were enslaved by a monopoly. The East India Company was a foreign monopoly. We are enslaved by a similar monopoly now (sic)," he said.
Rahul asserted that if an incident like the one involving Apple had occurred during the tenure of Manmohan Singh or Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it would have been a major scandal that could have toppled the government.
He said, "During Vajpayee-ji's government, if you had given me Rafale, I would have brought down the government. You wouldn't have found the government. Even if you had informed me about CBI raiding the owners of the Bombay airport, and it was linked to Adani, that would have shaken the government. We are now dealing with a different kind of politics. In the past, it would have been explosive and would have brought down the government."