FM slams Rahul for 'baseless allegations' against PM on Adani issue, calls him 'repeat offender'

Sitharaman recalled Gandhi had to give written apologies twice

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday came down heavily on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "baseless allegations" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Adani issue, and described him as a "repeat offender" in levelling such charges.

Responding to questions at a press conference at the State BJP office here, she said, "If Rahul Gandhi really thinks that Adani has been given all these things (undue favours), it is not true. Let me also say he's now becoming a repeat offender in terms of putting baseless allegations against the Prime Minister. We saw that prior to the 2019 elections, now he's doing it again. He doesn't seem to learn any lessons from all these false allegations that he wants to level against the Prime Minister."

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Sitharaman also sought to know why Gandhi did not raise a voice against the "undue favour" to Adani by the Kerala government and a solar power project to the company in Rajasthan. "It was the (then) Congress government (in Kerala), which gave on a platter Vizhinjam Port to Adani. It was not given on the basis of any tender. Now, this is not this (Congress) government, but the CPM government. But, what stopped him from asking and demanding that Kerala cancel that order?" Sitharaman asked.

The "entire solar power project" has been given to Adani in (Congress-ruled) Rajasthan. "What stops Rahul Gandhi?" Noting that Adani got projects in Chhattisgarh also, she said crony capitalism was happening in Congress governments.

“I challenged him (Rahul Gandhi) to tear the orders and cancel those orders. Why doesn’t he tear off that Rajasthan agreement with Adani saying no solar power here. No way, you are Modi-Adani Bhai Bhai. We don’t want ‘Modi Adani Bhai Bhai’ in Rajasthan,” the Finance Minister said.

"If there is any crony capitalism is happening, it is happening in Congress-led governments and Rahul Gandhi did not speak a word about it," she alleged. Sitharaman also recalled that Gandhi had to give written apologies twice. “In 2019, while making allegations during Rafale aircraft procurement, you were giving such statements against the Prime Minister, that you had to seek an apology in the Supreme Court,” the Minister pointed out. “Today he is saying ‘I am Gandhi, not Savarkar’ . Does he remember the two apologies he gave earlier?” she asked.