ED, CBI are for Opposition leaders, while ‘friend’ Mehul Choksi gets release, says Rahul Gandhi

Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday saying that central agencies were being used against Opposition leaders, while the PM’s “Mehul bhai” was being released.

In a tweet in Hindi, the Congress president said if Parliament could be stalled for the “best friend”, referring to businessman Gautam Adani, then how could the “old friend” who absconded five years ago be denied help? He went on to say that the Prime Minister’s promise of “na khaane doonga (will not allow corruption)” had become yet another “jumla (false promise)” when thousands of crores of rupees had been lost.

The Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Choksi, the key accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case, was withdrawn by Interpol. As reported by The Indian Express on Tuesday, Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, had said: “Because of the efforts of the legal team and the genuineness of my client’s case, his RCN has been cancelled, and ultimately truth has prevailed.” The jeweller had fled India in January 2018, just a few days before the Central Bureau of Investigation lodged a case against him and his nephew, Nirav Modi.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha also hit out at the government over Choksi’s escape from India. He asked which minister had enabled Choksi to leave India and what connection did the BJP have with him. He asked why the government had not given Interpol strong evidence against Choksi. “Why did the government grant a no-objection certificate to him to get citizenship of Antigua. Is it not true that the Prime Minister himself called him ‘Mehul bhai’,” asked Chadha, addressing the media.

Meanwhile, in another tweet in English, Kharge said: “Why is the Government stalling discussions in the Parliament? Is it not the responsibility of the Government to run the house and address issues of national interest? If there is ‘Saaf Niyat, Sahi Vikas’, why running away from debate, PM Saab?”

The Congress and other Opposition parties have been demanding a discussion and a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe to look into the allegations against the Adani Group. The Budget Session of Parliament has been marred by disruptions over the issue as well as the BJP’s demands for an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks about Indian democracy made abroad.