Democratic Progressive Azad Party leader and rebel Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has set off a fresh political slugfest, accusing Rahul Gandhi of associating with “undesirable businessmen”. As the BJP sought "clarifications" from Rahul on the “interests” of these businessmen, the Congress accused the veteran politician of plunging to "new depths". Azad’s fresh offensive followed Rahul's swipe at him and other Congress rebels, this time dragging them into an attack on the Adani issue. Just after NCP chief Sharad Pawar's interview to NDTV suggesting that the allegations against Gautam Adani seemed "targeted", Rahul had stepped up offensive on the issue. Accusing the BJP government of trying to divert attention on the matter, Rahul had tweeted that the question was "who the Rs 20,000 crore in Adani's benami companies belonged to", and posted a picture expanding on each letter of the Adani name as a stand-in for leaders who had left the Congress. “A” was highlighted from the name Ghulam (Nabi Azad); “D” was marked from (Jyotiraditya) Scindia, “A” from Kiran (Reddy), “N” from Himanta (Biswa Sarma); and “I” from Anil (Antony). Asked about Rahul's tweet, Azad told Malayalam news channel Asianet on Monday: “It is (a) shame. I have never had any association with any businessmen, whereas their entire family had associations with businessmen including him (Rahul).” Azad added: “I still won’t (say anything) because I have great respect for the family. I don’t want to speak anything. Otherwise I can give ten examples of where all he would go and meet. Even outside the country, they meet people who are undesirable businessmen." Latching on to Azad’s remarks, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded that Rahul respond to the charge. "Ghulam Nabi Azad has made a serious allegation that whenever Rahul Gandhi goes on a foreign tour, he meets many ‘unwanted businessmen’. Who are these 'unwanted traders' and what are their interests? Is Rahul Gandhi trying to weaken India at the behest of anti-India businessmen and working against Modi ji (PM Narendra Modi)?" he said. Prasad also asked why Rahul was maintaining a “stoic silence” over the alleged involvement of Congress leaders in “a number of scams”. “Revelations made by Azad are serious in nature. Rahul Gandhi needs to clarify,” the senior BJP leader said. The BJP has been attacking Rahul over statements made by him during his recent engagements abroad, saying he had denigrated the country. Responding to Gandhi, Scindia said in a Hindi tweet that the Congress leader was “now reduced to a troll”. स्पष्ट है कि अब आप एक ट्रोल तक सीमित हो चुके हैं । मुझ पर बेबुनियाद आरोप लगाने, और मुख्य मुद्दों से लोगों का ध्यान भटकाने के बजाय, इन तीन प्रश्नों का जवाब क्यों नहीं देते? 1/3 — Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) April 10, 2023 He went on to ask why the leader did not “apologise” for “derogatory statement about the backward class” and why the Congress was “putting pressure” on the Court, which it “has always pointed fingers at”. “Why should the rules be different for you? Do you consider yourself a first class citizen? You are so engrossed in ego that perhaps even the importance of these questions is beyond your understanding,” he added. Hitting out at Azad, Jairam Ramesh, the general secretary of communications in the Congress, tweeted: “With every passing day, Ghulam Nabi Azad falls to new depths to demonstrate his true character and his loyalty to Mr. Modi. His contemptible statements on the Congress leadership reflect his desperation to remain relevant. I can only say that he is PATHETIC.”
