'Showing loyalty to PM Modi': Stung by 'undesirable businessmen' claim, Congress launches fresh attack on Azad
Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former Congress veteran, left the party in August last year over differences with the top leadership. Ever since he exited the party, Azad has been talking about the flaws in the way the top leadership is handling the party affairs.
- Apr 10, 2023,
- Updated Apr 10, 2023 4:15 PM IST
A day after former parliamentarian Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that Rahul Gandhi meets 'undesirable businessmen', the Congress on Monday intensified its attack on him saying he is displaying his loyalty to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "With every passing day, Ghulam Nabi Azad falls to new depths to demonstrate his true character and his loyalty to PM Modi. I can only say that he is pathetic," tweeted Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, after Azad claimed that Gandhi meets with 'undesirable businessmen'.
Also Read: ‘Meets undesirable businessmen’: Ghulam Nabi Azad fires fresh salvo after Rahul Gandhi's Adani swipe
Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former Congress veteran, left the party in August last year over differences with the top leadership. Ever since he exited the party, Azad has been talking about the flaws in the way the top leadership is handling the party affairs.
On Sunday, in an interview with the Malayalam news channel Asianet, the former Congress leader said that the entire Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, has associations with businessmen who are 'undesirable'. He said while responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi's repeated attack on Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani.
"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 told Asianet. The BJP was quick to pick up the allegations, with its former central minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking the former Congress chief to clarify whether he was working with forces inimical to India. "Ghulam Nabi Azad made serious allegations that whenever Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, he meets 'undesirable businessmen'...With whom Rahul Gandhi meet? What is the agenda? Is Rahul Gandhi working with anti-India businessmen to weaken the country?" he asked.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi targeted Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Anil Antony, and Kiran Kumar Reddy by connecting all of them to Adani. In a tweet, he wrote in Hindi: "They hide the truth, that's why they mislead every day! The question remains - Rs 20,000 crore benami money in Adani's companies belongs to whom?" Antony and Reddy both were in Congress but joined the BJP recently.
Azad said he did not have any association with any businessman as Gandhi was suggesting in his tweet. "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.
A day after former parliamentarian Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that Rahul Gandhi meets 'undesirable businessmen', the Congress on Monday intensified its attack on him saying he is displaying his loyalty to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "With every passing day, Ghulam Nabi Azad falls to new depths to demonstrate his true character and his loyalty to PM Modi. I can only say that he is pathetic," tweeted Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, after Azad claimed that Gandhi meets with 'undesirable businessmen'.
Also Read: ‘Meets undesirable businessmen’: Ghulam Nabi Azad fires fresh salvo after Rahul Gandhi's Adani swipe
Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former Congress veteran, left the party in August last year over differences with the top leadership. Ever since he exited the party, Azad has been talking about the flaws in the way the top leadership is handling the party affairs.
On Sunday, in an interview with the Malayalam news channel Asianet, the former Congress leader said that the entire Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, has associations with businessmen who are 'undesirable'. He said while responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi's repeated attack on Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani.
"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 told Asianet. The BJP was quick to pick up the allegations, with its former central minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking the former Congress chief to clarify whether he was working with forces inimical to India. "Ghulam Nabi Azad made serious allegations that whenever Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, he meets 'undesirable businessmen'...With whom Rahul Gandhi meet? What is the agenda? Is Rahul Gandhi working with anti-India businessmen to weaken the country?" he asked.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi targeted Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Anil Antony, and Kiran Kumar Reddy by connecting all of them to Adani. In a tweet, he wrote in Hindi: "They hide the truth, that's why they mislead every day! The question remains - Rs 20,000 crore benami money in Adani's companies belongs to whom?" Antony and Reddy both were in Congress but joined the BJP recently.
Azad said he did not have any association with any businessman as Gandhi was suggesting in his tweet. "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.