PM Modi is targeting his ‘friends’ as his chair has started ‘shaking’, says Congress

Rahul Gandhi had mentioned ‘Adani 103 times and Ambani more than 30 times in his speeches’ since the elections had begun, Congress’ communications chief Jairam Ramesh said

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addresses the media in Ahmedabad on May 3, 2024. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 8 asked why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had stopped raising the “Adani-Ambani issue” and if a deal had been struck, the Congress hit back, claiming that the tide of the election had turned and that had forced the Prime Minister to target his “friends”.

Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh, in a post on social media platform X, said that after the elections had begun, Mr. Gandhi had mentioned “Adani 103 times and Ambani more than 30 times in his speeches”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, also in a post on X, said Mr. Modi’s chair was “shaking” after three phases of elections.

“The times are changing. Friends are no longer friends…! After completion of three phases of elections, today the Prime Minister has started attacking his own friends. It is becoming clear that Modiji’s chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the results,” Mr. Kharge said.

His remarks came after Mr. Modi at an election rally in Telangana said the Congress should explain to the people why it had stopped raising the “Ambani-Adani” issue as its “shehzada” (a reference to Mr. Gandhi) used to do for the past five years, and asked if it had struck a “deal”.

“The tide of this election has turned so violently that the “Pappa” of “Hum Do Hamare Do” is turning on his own children. The man who collected ₹8,200 crore of Electoral Bonds for his party — a scam so egregious that even the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional — is today levelling allegations on others,” Mr. Ramesh said.

“Defeat is a foregone conclusion. The Prime Minister is now spooked even by his own shadow,” he added.

The Congress communication chief alleged that the “Prime Minister has given contracts and licenses worth ₹4 lakh crore to his cronies in return for their donations”.

“Since April 3, 2024, @RahulGandhi has mentioned Adani 103 times and Ambani more than 30 times in his speeches. A JPC [joint parliamentary committee] will be formed as soon as the India alliance comes to power on June 4, 2024, to investigate the Modani Scam — which has an estimated price tag of at least ₹2 lakh crore,” Mr. Ramesh said.