Mumbai: Congress brings its ‘Democracy Disqualified’ campaign to city; Pawan Khera slams BJP & its Adani-connection

The Congress on Wednesday reiterated that the Modi government is being run at the behest of industrialist Gautam Adani.

All India Congress Committee spokesman Pawan Khera told journalists in Mumbai that there was a pattern according to which large business houses are first raided by central agencies and are later taken over by the Adani Group.

Khera was in the city as part of Congress’ ‘Democracy Disqualified’ campaign.

Points out at Adani’s acquisition of Mumbai International Airport

Adani’s acquisition of Mumbai International Airport is a case in point, he said, and asked why the Centre is averse to a joint parliamentary committee probe (JPC) into the affairs of Adani, who allegedly has business links with a Chinese businessman.

“The majority of members of the JPC and the chairman will be from the BJP and yet Modi is afraid of such a probe,” Kherasaid.

When pointed out that the Congress government of Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and the erstwhile MVA government in Maharashtra had also “favoured” Adani, Khera said, “Let there be an inquiry into that as well.”

When his attention was drawn to the fact that Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha as per a law introduced by a Congress government, Khera said the legislation is being selectively implemented.

Congress willing to help PM on one condition: Khera

Gandhi was disqualified immediately after he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Surat court in a defamation case, while in other cases this was not done, Khera said.

He said Gandhi was politically more powerful on the streets than inside the Lok Sabha.

Khera said the Congress was willing to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided he disclosed the nature of his relationship with Adani. He said Modi took Adani and the State Bank of India chairman along with him to Australia and swung a coal mine deal in favour of the industrialist. A similar deal was struck with the Sri Lankan and Bangladesh governments, he added.

Khera accused the Modi regime of allowing Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to inspect the site of the terror attack on the Pathankot air base on January 2, 2016. “No other government had done this,” he said.

Asked about the Savarkar controversy, Khera said even though the Shiv Sena was a partner of the MVA coalition in Maharashtra, there were differences between the two parties. “There is no rift in the MVA,” he said.