Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge today questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that it is necessary to find out if the fundamentals of the Gautam Adani Group are strong or weak. Uproar broke out in the Rajya Sabha after Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘mouni baba’ comment. Parliament’s Budget Session, which has seen an uproar mainly over the Adani-Hindenburg dispute since it began.
A Jan. 24 report from Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others.
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“In 2014, PM Modi said na khaunga na khane dunga. Now I want to ask why you let some industrialists ‘eat’. The wealth of one of PM Modi’s closest friends increased 13 times in 2.5 years. In 2014, it was $50,000 crores while in 2019 it became $1 lakh crore. I don’t know what magic happened that his assets touched $12 lakh crore in just two years,” Kharge said amid protests by BJP MPs.
BJP MP Piyush Goyal said that Kharge is talking about so-called wealth that has no merit. “That’s a stock market calculation. The government has no role in that,” Goyal said.
Reacting to Kharge’s comment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. “He is fully infused with insinuations against the honorable prime minister and that is what we are against.”
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said: “If I tell the truth, is it anti-national? I’m not anti-national. I’m more patriotic than anyone here. I’m a ‘bhoomi-putra’… You’re looting the country and telling me that I’m anti-national.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motion of thanks to the President’s speech in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. His speech comes a day after the main leader of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, spoke on the motion of thanks to President Murmu, during which he questioned the Center for Adani’s promotion.