Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal sparred on Twitter after Mr. Gandhi accused the latter of a “₹48 crore scam” and demanded his resignation.
“Piyush Goyal’s, 48 Crore FlashNet Scam is about deceit, conflict of interest and greed. The evidence is on the table,” he tweeted, using the hashtag #GoyalMustResign.
Quotes the PM
The Railway Minister soon responded. “Till 26th May 2014, before I became a Minister, I was a professional Chartered Accountant and investment banker. Unlike you, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, I have not learnt well the art of living without working. I am also a kaamdaar (worker) and not a ‘naamdaar’ (dynast),” Mr. Goyal said. The Minister was playing on words used earlier in the day by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to target the Congress at an election rally in Karnataka
The crux of the Congress allegation is that Mr. Goyal sold his company, Flashnet Info Solutions, for ₹48 crore to the Piramal Group with interests in the power sector, after he took over as Union Power Minister in 2014. Mr. Gandhi had alleged that it was a clear case of conflict of interest and questioned Mr. Modi’s silence on it.
On Monday, the Congress had levelled a number of allegations including the charge that shares of Flashnet were sold for 1000 times more their face value.
“How was Flashnet with a net worth of ₹12.50 crore valued at almost ₹50 crore within a few months? Why is Shri Piyush Goyal shying from making the valuation report of Flashnet Info Solutions (India) Limited public? When will he make this report public?” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had asked on Monday.
