Rahul says Adani became rich at cost of poor while Gehlot shares dais with millionaire

On a day Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot shared dais with Gautam Adani, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the billionaire industrialist rose in the list of richest like a rocket but at the cost of the poor and middle-class who are burdened by price rise and corruption.

Rahul has been maintaining this view for some time but the choice of referring to Adani in his speech during the Bharat Jodo Yatra came as the BJP and his detractors pointed out to Gehlot hosting Adani at the Rajasthan Investors Meet to attack the former Congress president.

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Some even described Gehlot’s invite as a rebuff to Rahul against the backdrop of the Gandhis wanting to replace him with his bete noir Sachin Pilot as the CM. On Friday morning, he even tweeted about the two-day event, “Committed. Delivered.”

Congress leaders earlier sought to downplay the parallel saying Rahul was attacking crony capitalism and state governments are always encouraged to do legitimate businesses. However, it is read as a disapproval of Gehlot inviting Adani for the investment meet.

BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya sought to take a swing at Rahul, “In another sign of revolt and brewing discontent against the Gandhis, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot invites Gautam Adani for the investor summit. He is given a seat right next to the CM. This is an open message to Rahul Gandhi, who doesn’t tire of berating Adani-Ambani, to back off,” he tweeted.

Delivering his speech after Adani announced a Rs 65,000 crore investment in Rajasthan over the next 5 to 7 years in setting up a mega 10,000 MW solar power capacity, expanding cement plant and upgrading Jaipur airport, Rahul said the Narendra Modi government was not giving MSP but imposing GST and raising prices of fuel, which is putting people in dire straits.

“If money is going out of your pockets, whose pocket is it going to? Money doesn't disappear. If it is going out of your pocket, it is going to someone else. The second richest man in the world is close to the Prime Minister of India. He never used to be the second richest man in the world. In fact, he was not even in the list. Imagine, suddenly there is a list of 100 richest people and this man has gone like a rocket in the list,” Rahul said without naming Adani.

“You (common man) are financing him and others like him. They dream any dream they want. They want airports, they want ports, they want to control roads, agriculture. They can enter wherever they want to. Meanwhile you spend your life and earnings to send your child to a college but he remains unemployed…their degree certificates are useless,” he said.

He said the youth are not getting jobs because the employment creators, the small and medium business, have been "destroyed" due to the policies of the BJP government.

“Demonetisation and GST are weapons. The farm laws were a weapon. They were not policies but weapons aimed at the poor, farmers, labourers and small and medium businesses.” he added.