Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses during the Maharashtra Swabhiman rally, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Amid accusations that he is against big businesses, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday made it clear that he is "not anti-business" as projected by the ruling BJP but is "anti-monopoly" and "anti-creating oligopolies".
His remarks came after BJP unleashed an attack on him following his article in a newspaper in which he argued that the original East India Company wound up over 150 years ago but the raw fear it then generated is back with a new breed of monopolists having taken its place.
Rahul also claimed that after his article many play-fair businesses are telling him that a senior Minister has been calling and forcing them to say good things on social media about Prime Minister Modi and the government's programmes. “Proves my point exactly!” he posted on ‘X’.
The senior Congress leader has been accusing the Narendra Modi government of benefitting big business houses, especially the Adani Group.
In a short video posted on his social media handles, "I want to make something absolutely clear, I have been projected by my opponents in the BJP to be anti-business. I am not anti-business in the least, I am anti-monopoly, I am anti-creating oligopolies, I am anti-domination of business by one or 2 or 5 people."
"I started my career as a management consultant and I understand the type of things that are required for a business to succeed. So I just want to repeat, I am not anti-business, I am anti-monopoly," he said.
Sharing the video on 'X', he added, "I am pro-Jobs, pro-Business, pro-Innovation, pro-Competition. I am anti-Monopoly. Our economy will thrive when there is free and fair space for all."
In his article on Wednesday, Rahul said that the original East India Company wound up over 150 years ago, but the raw fear it then generated is back and a new breed of monopolists has taken its place, amassing colossal wealth, even as India has become far more unequal and unfair for everybody else.
The BJP shot back with a post on 'X', saying, "another baseless accusation against the Modi government through the so-called 'match-fixing monopoly groups versus fair-play businesses' is simply misleading. Dear Baalak Buddhi, do not jump to conclusions without examining facts."
As Rahul spoke about some Indian royalty siding with the British, BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia and Diya Kumari, who belong to royal families, attacked the Congress leader.
While Scindia said Rahul is no champion of Atmanirbhar Bharat and he is "merely a product of an outdated entitlement", Diya Kumari said the dream of integrated India was only possible because of the utmost sacrifice of the erstwhile royal families of India and baseless allegations made on the basis of half-baked interpretation of historical facts is completely unacceptable.
Congress Lok Sabha Whip Manickam Tagore countered and targeted Scindia, who shifted to the BJP from Congress, "The Company choked India by partnering with, bribing, and threatening our more pliant maharajas. Today, we see similar tactics with Rajya Sabha membership and ministries."
To Diya Kumari, Tagore said, "those rajas and maharajas who served the East India Company and kept their palaces and privileges are now getting angry. These ‘angry birds’ should remember: you never fought the British, you paved the way for them."