Rahul Gandhi won’t apologise for Modi-Adani allegations: Congress

Congress has written a letter to SEBI and RBI for an investigation against the Adani Group.

New Delhi | Updated: 14 February, 2023 3:36 pm IST
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (File photo)

Congress on Tuesday hit out at the government over its refusal for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) enquiry into allegations of fraud against the Adani Group and said that MP Rahul Gandhi will not apologise for his remarks in parliament.

Addressing media persons at the party headquarters, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Gandhi will give a reply to the notice sent by the Lok Sabha secretariat to him over breach of privilege notices submitted by parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

“Rahul Gandhi will not apologise. He will give a reply to the privilege notice sent to him. Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have also written to respective speakers of the House,” Ramesh said.

The Congress leader also alleged that Opposition MPs are not allowed to speak in the House. “The speech of the Congress leaders are expunged from parliament records,” he said referring to the removal of several parts of the speech of Rahul Gandhi and president Mallikarjun Kharge.

He also said that Congress will hold press conferences across the country on February 17 to tell the people how attempts are being made to silence the voices of the Congress leaders.

The Congress leader also said that he has written to the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) governor on Tuesday morning for a free and fair probe into the Adani issue “without fear of government”.

Accusing the Modi government of crony capitalism, he said: “Congress is in favour of private investment. We are not against private investment, entrepreneurship or liberalisation, but against ‘mitr-vaadi punjiwaad’ (crony capitalism).”

“Public sector properties are being sold. We are against the selling of the profit-making PSUs of the country,” said Ramesh, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, adding that the party is opposed to extracting political benefits from privatization.

Pressing for the Opposition’s demand for a JPC investigation against Adani, he said, “The entire opposition is united on the demand of JPC. What is the relation between the Prime Minister and this industrialist, it will be known only by the investigation of JPC.”

He said that the party will continue to raise the demand of the JPC in the second half of the budget session of parliament that will commence on March 13.

Slamming the government, Ramesh, who is also the communication in-charge of the Congress, said: “If the government does not have anything to hide on the Adani issue, then why it is running away from the JPC.”

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