Former Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday (9 April) alleged that Rahul Gandhi has links with “undesirable businessmen”.
In response to Rahul’s tweet attacking Azad and few other leaders, Azad claimed in an interview with Malayalam news channel Asianet News that the Gandhi family, including Rahul, has associations with businessmen, including those who are deemed “undesirable”.
Former Congress leader and Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed in an interview that Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and meets “undesirable businessmen”. The veteran Congress leader was replying to Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that the leaders who left the Congress recently, including Azad, have ties with the Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani.
Azad, who has also served as the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, told the Malayalam news channel Asianet in an interview that the entire Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, have associations with businessmen. “The entire family has associations with businessmen, including him [Rahul]. I can give 10 examples of where he would go, even outside the country, to meet people who are undesirable businessmen,” Azad alleged.
Azad told a reporter that he did not have any association with any businessman as Rahul Gandhi is suggesting in his tweet and called it a shame. “It is a shame. Rahul Gandhi is saying. I never had any association with any businessman. Whereas the entire family [Gandhi] is associated with businessmen, including him,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi had tweeted in Hindi, “They hide the truth, that’s why they mislead everyday! The question remains the same- who has Rs 20,000 crore benami money in Adani’s companies?” In this tweet, he named former Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anil Antony, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Ghulam Nabi Azad was, however, not the only one to condemn Rahul Gandhi.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma shot back at the former Congress president and tweeted, “It was our decency to never have asked you about where you concealed the proceeds of crime from the Bofors and National Herald scams and how you allowed Ottavio Quattrochi to escape the clutches of Indian justice multiple times. Anyway, we will meet in the court of law.”
Former defence minister AK Antony’s son and BJP leader Anil Antony said it was unfortunate to see “the so-called PM candidate of the Congress speak like an online/social media cell troll and not like a national leader.”
“Sri Rahul Gandhi – This is sad to see a former President of a national party – the so-called PM candidate of the Congress speak like an online/social media cell troll and not like a national leader. Very humbled to see my fledgling name also with these tall stalwarts who have contributed decades for nation building work – and had to leave the party as they preferred to work for India and our people and not for a family,” Antony wrote.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared the clip from this interview on its official Twitter handle and wrote, “Rahul Gandhi must explain who are these businessmen he meets and for what purpose?”
Former Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the country wants to know who does Rahul Gandhi meet during foreign tours. Prasad further asked, “Who are these ‘unwanted traders’ and what are their interests? Is Rahul Gandhi trying to weaken India at the behest of anti-India businessmen and working against Modi ji?”
