Ghulam Nabi Azad’s ‘meets undesirable bizmen’ claim: BJP seeks explanation from Rahul Gandhi
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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party continues to attack Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking answers based on an interview of former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who said that Gandhi goes abroad and meets 'undesirable businessmen'.
‘Who are these businessmen?’, the BJP has asked.
Ghulam Nabi Azad’s claim of Gandhi meeting ‘undesirable businessmen’ came days after the latter took a jibe at some leaders who have quit the Congress in recent years. Gandhi mentioned the names of five former Congressmen Jyotiraditya Scindia, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kiran Kumar Reddy and Anil K Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad saying that these names are just BJP's tools to divert attention from Adani.
"They hide the truth, that's why they mislead everyday! The question remains the same - whose Rs 20,000 crore benami money is in Adani's companies?" Gandhi asked in a tweet in Hindi and attached an image with the names of the leaders with that of Adani.
Reacting to the tweet into which his name has been dragged, Ghulam Nabi Azad told a news channel that he never had any association with any businessmen whereas the entire family (Gandhi) is associated with businessmen including him.
"I have great respect for the family. I don't want to speak anything against the family. Otherwise, I would have given examples of where he would go and meet undesirable businessmen even outside the country," Ghulam Nabi Azad said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in his memoir 'Azaad' , had categorised Congress as 'bloopers and bombast'. He had also criticised Rahul Gandhi several times during interviews saying that it was for Gandhi that he and many leaders exited the party.
Rahul Gandhi has been at the centre of a political firestorm triggered by his Lok Sabha speech on Gautam Adani which got expunged in parts.
The BJP has also demanded an apology for his 'democracy under attack' remarks during his speech in the UK. Gandhi has been since convicted in a 2019 Modi-surname defamation case and was disqualified from the Lok Sabha a day later.
He also faced BJP’s ire for his Savarkar comment and now has been facing trouble for his 'Adani' tweet.