'After my article, a senior minister called...': Rahul Gandhi's serious claim after his 'match-fixing' charge against Centre

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi made strong allegations on Thursday, claiming that after publishing an article critical of the government for creating monopolies, a senior minister began contacting 'play-fair businesses' to pressure them into praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration's programs on social media.

"After my article, many play-fair businesses are telling me that a senior Minister has been calling and forcing them to say good things on social media about PM Modi and the govt's programs. Proves my point exactly!" Gandhi said. 

Gandhi published an opinion piece on Wednesday, where he raised concerns about an alleged “match-fixing” between influential businesses and the government. In his article, Gandhi accused the current administration of supporting monopolistic powers that suppress competition and hinder the growth of smaller businesses.

Drawing historical parallels, Gandhi invoked the example of the East India Company, arguing that it monopolised trade and wiped out textile industry and manufacturing system. "We didn’t lose our freedom to another nation; we lost it to a monopolistic corporation that ran a coercive apparatus,” Gandhi wrote.

He elaborated on how the company manipulated India's economic and administrative systems to its advantage, stating, “The Company controlled the terms of trade and obliterated competition. It dictated who sold what and to whom... It secured a monopoly for the cultivation of opium in one region and developed a captive market of opium addicts in another.”

He argued that much like the East India Company, a modern form of monopoly has taken root in India, impacting businesses and economic opportunities. “A new breed of monopolists has taken its place,” he said, claiming these entities “amassed colossal wealth” while inequality surged and many businesses were destroyed. “Our institutions no longer belong to our people, they do the bidding of monopolists.”

In his article, Gandhi expressed that many innovative and capable business leaders in India are intimidated by these dominant powers. “I know that hundreds of India’s brilliant and dynamic business leaders are scared of the monopolists,” he noted. He said true competition is being overshadowed by political and economic influence. “When you compete with them, you are not competing with a company; you are fighting the machinery of the Indian state...Today, market forces do not determine success, power relations do.”

Gandhi, however, clarified that he was not anti-business. "I want to make something absolutely clear. I have been projected by my opponents in the BJP to be anti-business. I am not anti-business, in the least,” he said. He said his criticism was aimed at monopolistic practices rather than businesses themselves. "I am anti-monopoly. I am anti-creating oligopolies. I am anti-domination by one or two or 3 or 5 people."

The BJP has often claimed that Gandhi's persistent criticism of business tycoons like Adani and Ambani proves he is anti-business.