Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that cases pursued by the CBI, ED, and Income Tax department conveniently disapper when businessmen pay off the BJP. Gandhi asserted that these agencies initially target businessmen, but investigations are dropped once they contribute funds to the ruling party.
“The system is very simple. They will send CBI, ED, and the Income Tax department to some businessmen. When that businessman pays some money to the BJP, the CBI, ED case will be closed.”
During a roadshow in Pathanapuram, the Congress MP claimed that Adani acquired the Mumbai Airport after its previous owner was booked by CBI.
“For example, the owner of the Mumbai airport got a CBI case. After a month, he handed over the Airport to Adani and the case was closed,” Congress’s Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency candidate said.
“There are some people in every small town or village who extort money on the streets by threatening physical harm. In malayalam you call this extortion ‘kolla adikkal’ (loot), but Modi calls it electoral bonds. What a common thief is doing on the streets, the PM is doing at an international level,” the Congress leader alleged.
Alleging corruption on a grand scale, Rahul Gandhi referenced a recent interview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi where, according to Gandhi, the PM attempted to justify what he termed the “biggest corruption scandal on the planet” – the electoral bond scheme.
“In his interview, he was trying to defend the biggest corruption scandal on the planet – the electoral bond scheme through which the BJP got thousands of crores of rupees by extorting India’s businessmen,” Gandhi alleged.
The Congress leader took out a massive road show from Kodiyathur around 11.30 am as part of his ongoing campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the southern state. He was accompanied by hundreds of party workers and supporters who ran alongside and ahead of the vehicle carrying him.
Gandhi, who is seeking a reelection from Wayanad, visited the constituency on April 15, marking his second visit since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier this month, he kicked off his campaign by filing nomination papers and leading a grand roadshow.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he secured victory in Wayanad with an impressive margin of 4,31,770 votes. Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha seats go to polls on April 26.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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Published: 16 Apr 2024, 03:26 PM IST