Day After Rahul Gandhi's Attack, PM Modi Responds With a Swipe at Congress MP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit back at former Congress President Rahul Gandhi after the latter accused him of helping industrialist Gautam Adani in setting up his ports-to-airports empire.

In his speech during the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament, Prime Minister Modi said: "Yesterday, after some people's remarks in Lok Sabha, I was watching [as] the entire 'ecosystem' was jumping. Supporters were jubilant. Some people were very happy, saying, 'yeh hui na baat' ['this is how it should be']."

Gandhi, a key politician in India's main opposition party, was present in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) when Modi delivered his speech.

Modi, without directly mentioning Gandhi's name, stated that the allegations leveled by a Congress parliamentarian on Tuesday were fraught with jealousy, as the latter cannot digest that India as a nation is doing well under the BJP government.

"Some people are positively drowning in disappointment," the prime minister said, before highlighting several alleged scams that took place under the watch of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2004 to 2014.

"2004 to 2014 was the decade of scams and violence and the UPA's trademark was to turn every opportunity into crisis. That decade will be known as the lost decade," Modi said, as BJP lawmakers welcomed his comments with claps and loud cheers.

Modi's remarks came hours after Gandhi claimed that the prime minister was hand-in-glove with Adani, whose conglomerate is under intense scrutiny following a report by Hindenburg Research, a US-based investment firm, which claimed that the Indian business house was involved in accounting fraud.

Political Affairs

Opposition Parties Demand Parliamentary Probe on Adani Group Row

2 February 2023, 15:51

During his speech in parliament, Gandhi also claimed that another business group, GVK, was forced to sell Mumbai Airport on the instructions of Prime Minister Modi.

However, the charge was subsequently denied by the vice chairman of the conglomerate, G.V. Sanjay Reddy. "There was absolutely no pressure from the Adani Group or anyone else to sell Mumbai airport," Reddy told the media on Tuesday.

"As far as I am concerned, we had done this deal with Gautam Adani because of the fact that it was the need of the company. We had to repay lenders and there was no pressure from anybody else at all. As far as other aspects of what is being said in parliament, I would not like to comment as I would not like to get into the politics on it," he concluded.

The Adani Group acquired Mumbai Airport from GVK 18 months ago.

Modi Takes Swipe at Rahul Gandhi With 'Decades of Scams & Violence' Remark