Did Ambani-Adani buy Rahul's silence, says PM Modi; Congress hits back

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI: In a curious twist to the electoral discourse on

crony capitalism

, PM Modi on Wednesday accused Congress of striking a deal with “Ambani and Adani” and asked if the party had received “tempo loads of black money” from the two businessmen in return for Rahul Gandhi to stop “abusing” them during the elections.
“You must have seen, for the past five years, the Congress shehzada used to chant morning to evening...

Since his Rafale issue got grounded, he started chanting about ‘five industrialists’... then ‘Ambani-Adani’. But ever since elections have been announced, these people (Congress) have stopped abusing Ambani-Adani,” the PM said at a rally in Karimnagar in Telangana.

The PM said, “Mein aaj Telangana ki dharti se poochna chahta hoon… shehzade ghoshit kare ki chunaav mein yeh Ambani-Adani se kitna maal uthaya hai. Kaale dhan ke kitne bore bhar kar ke rupye maare hain? Kya tempo bhar kar ke notein Congress ke liye pahunchi hai kya? Kya sauda hua hai? (I ask from the soil of Telangana, let the shehzada declare how much money he has taken from Ambani-Adani these elections… how many sacks of black money? Have tempos full of currency notes reached Congress? What deal has been struck?)”

PM Modi said there was certainly something fishy (“daal me kuch kaala hai”) as for five years, they (Congress and Rahul) abused Adani-Ambani and it stopped overnight. “It means you have received some tempo loads of ‘chori ka maal’ (looted money),” he added.
The PM accusing Congress of taking huge amounts of black money came as a surprise since he has been at the receiving end of the opposition party’s barbs on crony capitalism.

While Congress rejected the charge by saying Rahul has consistently attacked Ambani and Adani, there were indications that BJP may not close the fresh front it has opened. Sources in BJP said unlike in the past, the campaign has seen Adani-Ambani ceasing to be Congress's main line of attack. “In any case, isn’t Ambani now missing from their concocted narrative of crony capitalism?” a source asked.
Modi’s speech focused on alleged corruption in Telangana under the Revanth Reddy-led Congress govt with the PM suggesting that one part of the bribes earned by one “R” in Hyderabad was getting transferred to another “R” in New Delhi. Mentioning the Telugu blockbuster ‘RRR’, Modi said there was a discussion on an “RR Tax” in Telangana. “Even a child in Telangana knows about the double R tax... You all know about the RRR film but I was told that the RR have left behind the RRR film in collections. As you know, RRR earned more than Rs 1,000 crore but I was told that this much was collected by RR just in a few days, such a loot they have organised,” he said.

Although the PM did not take any names, his mention of “RR” was seen as a reference to Rahul and Revanth Reddy. He said wherever Congress formed govt, its “ATM of money collection” started as he also mentioned unaccounted cash collected from the staff of a Jharkhand minister.
Modi said Congress’s fuse was blown after the third phase of polling and that the INDIA bloc would need a microscope to find its winning seats after the fourth phase. “Congress was already, in any case, having to use magnifying glass to spot seats they could win. Now after three rounds of polling, they realise that they have to use a new, more powerful magnifying glass to identify the few they can still win,” he said.
“Wherever there is Congress, there will be plenty of lies and fraud,” Modi said. “It is an anti-SC/ST/OBC party. One of the prominent faces of the Congress alliance has stated that all reservations must be given to Muslims. This despite Ambedkar making it clear that no religious reservations can be given. They have no respect for the Constitution. These people do not want SC, ST and OBC to come up and take away their seats,” he added.