Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was in the middle of training guns at industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a press conference on Thursday when his statement was disrupted by a power outage. Thereafter, when the power came back, Gandhi sarcastically attributed the cut to “Adani power and Modi power”.
Hours after the Rahul Gandhi presser, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sambit Patra hit back at the Congress leader saying that his colleague Jairam Ramesh, who was seated beside Rahul Gandhi at that time, might have cut the power supply to stop him from continuing with the attack.
The Congress leaders had addressed the media at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi after US prosecutors indicted Adani in an alleged bribery and fraud case linked to solar energy contracts.
Power outage during LoP Rahul Gandhi’s Press Confrence,
RG says it’s Adani power Modi power! 😂 pic.twitter.com/rUJEcrcrBu
— Ravi Kapur (@Kap57608111) November 21, 2024
Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay over USD 250 million (about Rs 2,100 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange of favourable terms for solar power contracts. Adani group, however, denied charges saying the allegations by US prosecutors are “baseless”. It said all possible legal recourse will be sought.
When the microphone briefly went off during his remarks, Rahul Gandhi mockingly said: “Adani power, Modi power, don’t know which power it is. But both of them are one”.
He further accused PM Modi of shielding Adani from interrogation and arrest, claiming, “Adani ji is involved in a Rs 2,000-crore scam but walks free because the PM protects him. Unless Adani is arrested and interrogated, no investigation will be credible. In the end, Narendra Modi’s name will come out because BJP’s entire funding structure is in his hands.”
Reacting to the power outage, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed the Congress leader for tarnishing the PM’s image during a rebuttal press conference. He said that the mic would have been switched off by Jairam Ramesh thinking “enough of Rahul Gandhi”.
“Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating the same three words—Adani, Ambani, chor. Today, his press conference had a power cut, and even for that, he blamed Adani and Modi. It’s his office, his electricity! I think Jairam Ramesh, who was sitting next to him, might have cut the power thinking, ‘Enough of Rahul Gandhi’,” Sambit Patra said.
Patra had also accused Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi of trying to tarnish PM Modi’s image since 2002. He said that the states that states that allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group as per the US indictment are the ones that were ruled by the Opposition.
