Venugopal slams Modi govt. for ‘hounding’ Rahul Gandhi

‘Police action against Rahul has been triggered by his allegations against Adani’

March 19, 2023 07:50 pm | Updated 10:41 pm IST - KOCHI

The police action against Rahul Gandhi, MP, has been triggered by his allegations against Adani. It is evident how much Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pained by allegations against Adani, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal has said.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mr. Venugopal said that Rahul Gandhi’s offence was that he “provided proof in the Parliament” on how the Modi government was going out of its way to help the Adani group. These steps to help the group included sacrificing public sector units (PSUs) like the Life Insurance Corporation.

At the same time, the Prime Minister had not come forward to answer the allegations raised by Mr. Gandhi. It had come to such a pass that those who looted the country were given protection and those who brought out the truth were being hounded, Mr. Venugopal said. The Modi government was doing its best to scare Rahul Gandhi and make him withdraw from the scene. The Congress would continue to fight until a joint parliamentary committee was appointed to look into issues related to the Adani group, Mr. Venugopal added.

Brahmapuram issue

The Congress leader also alleged that the government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had not learnt any lesson from the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which sought an environmental compensation of ₹100 crore from the Kochi city Corporation. The green tribunal verdict showed that the government failed to prevent the fire at the Brahmapuram waste dumping yard of the Kochi Corporation. The Chief Minister had so far not accepted the moral responsibility for the blaze and its impact on the lives of the people. The Congress leader demanded that the allegations related to handing over of waste disposal to a relative of a CPI(M) leader should be investigated.

He also alleged that the BJP government would not protect the minorities and the farmers. The Modi government’s attitude towards farmers was well-known. The farmers had to wage a long battle to force the government to withdraw anti-farmer laws.

He said that CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri had no right to speak against Mr. Modi. He said if Mr. Yechuri could not correct the Chief Minister of Kerala, he had no moral right to criticise the Prime Minister.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.