Kolar: In this Karnataka district headquarters town, Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, launched a scathing criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to the Adani "corruption" issue. It was in Kolar back in 2019 when he made a comment about the Modi surname, which resulted in his conviction for criminal defamation and the revocation of his parliamentary membership.
Adani symbol of Corruption: Rahul Gandhi
In his first visit to Karnataka after the announcement of Assembly polls on March 29, Gandhi highlighted the Adani issue to take a swipe at the Prime Minister.
"Adani is a symbol of corruption," he said addressing the 'Jai Bharat' rally here.
"I said in the parliament that Adani has a shell company. I questioned who owns the ₹20,000 crore? First time in history the BJP govt didn’t let the parliament function. Usually, the opposition stops the parliament from functioning," Gandhi said.
"I wrote two letters to the Speaker that I want to respond to the allegations against me, but I was not given a chance. He laughed and said I can’t do anything. He said to drink tea with him and he’ll explain. I said you are the speaker of the parliament, whatever you want to do in the parliament you can do, why are you not doing your work? He is scared to put the Adani issue in the parliament & after that, I was disqualified from the parliament," the Congress leader added.
Glad Congress fighting unitedly in Karnataka: Gandhi
Gandhi expressed his belief that the Congress will win the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka, which are scheduled for May 10. He further stated that once the party forms the government, its primary electoral commitments will be approved during the initial Cabinet meeting, paving the way for their implementation.
"I am very glad the Congress party is fighting Karnataka Assembly elections unitedly," he said.
Several high-ranking members of the Congress party, including AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC chief DK Shivakumar, and legislature party leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah, delivered speeches at the public meeting.
On March 23, Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison by a Surat court in Gujarat, in connection to a criminal defamation case stemming from his statement, "why all thieves have the Modi surname," during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign in Kolar. The next day, he was disqualified from Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the case.
(with inputs from agencies)
