Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the first time spoke out against those who had left the party in the recent past and either joined its arch rival – BJP or formed a new outfit. Rahul Gandhi also linked him to industrialist Gautam Adani, who has been a frequent target of the Congress.
The opposition has been steadfast in its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani case, in which it alleges that the industrial conglomerate has deposited ₹20,000 crore in benami money.
Rahul Gandhi, who has refrained from talking about quitting the party, on Saturday tweeted a picture with the names of recent defectors and linked them to Adani.
“They hide the truth, so they mislead everyday! The question remains the same – who has the benami money of Rs 20,000 crore in Adani’s companies?” he tweeted. The names of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiran Reddy, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Anil Antony have come up in his tweet.
While Ghulam Nabi Azad left the Congress in 2022, ending his association of nearly 50 years with the party. Central leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also joined the BJP in 2020. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also joined the BJP in 2015. The latest exit from the party was former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Reddy who joined the BJP on Friday. AK Antony’s son Anil Antony also joined the BJP on Thursday.