Congress leader Rahul Gandhi created a massive ruckus in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday when he showed pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Gautam Adani as he questioned the government on its links with the businessman and his sudden rise in wealth and power in the country.
Speaking on motion of thanks to the President's address, Gandhi said, "Adani was loyal to PM Modi and the result of that was tremendous expansion of his business in Gujarat."
He also alleged that "PM Modi used to travel in Adani's aircraft" and now the businessman travels in the PM's aircraft.
“From Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Himachal Pradesh we have been listening one name everywhere 'Adani'. Across the entire country, it's just 'Adani', 'Adani', 'Adani'...people used to ask me that Adani enters any business and never fails.
“Relationship began many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat CM...one man stood shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi, he was loyal to PM and helped Mr Modi to construct idea of a Resurgent Gujarat. Real magic began when PM Modi reached Delhi in 2014,” Gandhi added.
BJP hits back at Congress over Gandhi's remarks
The Bharatiye Janata Party (BJP) immediately hit back at Rahul Gandhi's allegations by releasing pictures of controversial businessman Robert Vadra with Adani.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju even asked Gandhi not to level "wild allegations" against the PM.
Why is Adani's value declining?
The Adani Group's plunging shares this week was triggered by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's Jan. 24 report that accused the conglomerate of stock manipulation, unsustainable debt and use of tax havens.
The Adani Group has rejected the criticism and denied wrongdoing in detailed rebuttals, but that has failed to arrest the unabated fall in its shares.
Claims made in the report have led to a 10 per cent crash in the prices of Adani Group stocks, wiping off more than ₹ 46,000 crore from the group’s market cap.
