Just about 30 kilometer away from Narendra Modi's home town Vadnagar, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the prime minister had received crores of rupees from the Sahara Group.
The Congress leader was addressing a rally at Mehsana in north Gujarat.
Rahul, who is believed to have kick started Congress' campaign for the assembly elections due next year in Gujarat, chose Modi's home-turf to “reveal” the details, which he had been promising saying that it would lead to an earthquake.
Reading out dates from a piece of paper, Rahul claimed that Sahara had given crores of rupees to Modi on nine occasions. This, he claimed, was written in a diary in possession of the Income Tax Department. The department, Rahul said, had got the diary during its raids on Sahara. Why an inquiry had not been initiated despite being sought by the IT Department, he asked.
The Congress vice president also dragged the Birlas and claimed that the IT Department found from Birlas computer a note that Rs 25 crore was paid to Modi. Rahul alleged that the note mentioned that Rs 12 crore had been paid and it ended with a question mark about the remaining amount.
Rahul alleged Modi received the money during his stint as Gujarat chief minister.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had recently exhorted Rahul Gandhi to expose Modi outside the Parliament. Rahul had alleged that he was not being allowed to speak in the Parliament.
The media has been quick to dissect the allegations by Rahul. There are reports that these allegations were already there in a petition before the Supreme Court, which it had dismissed.
Demanding an independent inquiry, Rahul said that since it was a question on the prime minister, he (Modi) should reply to it. “I am asking you on behalf of men and women of this country and you should answer it,” Rahul told the prime minister.
Rahul devoted majority of the time of his 45-minute speech on the reasons why Modi initiated demonetisation and the effects it has had on the common man.
The Congress vice president alleged that in initiating demonetisation, the prime minister had not targeted some 50 people (read businessmen) but the poor and hard working people of the country. “I wonder why, he (Modi) did not target 94 per cent of the black money but targeted only the remaining six per cent,” Rahul questioned.
He alleged that the prime minister got scared when people started asking about the Rs 15 lakh in each of their accounts he had promised ahead of the general elections. Modi, during the campaign of Parliamentary elections, had said that he would bring back black money from foreign banks and each Indian would get Rs 15 lakh in account.
“Since he (Modi) got sacred, he brought in demonetisation,” Rahul said and alleged that if the money of the common men and the poor remained in the banks, Modi could waive off the interests of the rich.
Before reaching Mehsana, in Unjha, he took the blessings of Goddess Umiya. The Goddess is considered to be the main deity of the Patidars.
