Following the trend of low voter turnout continuing in the Lok Sabha elections, even in the third phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a frontal attack on the Opposition led by Congress, claiming their campaign was funded by black money.
This prompted a terse response from the Congress, which said the BJP has realised it is "shaking" after three phases and has now started attacking its own "friends," showing the "real trend" of the result."
In a public speech, the PM asked the INDIA Bloc leader Rahul Gandhi as to why he has stopped criticising corporate giants like Adani and Ambani?. Modi on Wednesday for the first time during the election campaign accused the Congress of having a nexus with "Ambani and Adani", and asked if the party has received "tempo loads of black money" from the two businessmen as Rahul has now stopped "abusing" them.
In what appeared to be changing the narrative on the issue that was until now used by the Congress to attack Modi and his Government at the Centre, the PM also demanded that the party should explain to people why it has stopped raising the 'Ambani-Adani' issue as its 'shehzada' used to do for the past five years and asked if it has struck a 'sauda' (deal).
The Congress has been accusing the Prime Minister of favouring the top five industrialists in the country, including Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. Congress said the 'man' who collected `8,200 crore of Electoral Bonds for his party — a scam so egregious that even the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional — is today levelling allegations on others.
"Since his Rafale issue got grounded, he started chanting about 'five industrialists'. Then he started saying Ambani-Adani. But ever since elections have been announced, these people (Congress) have stopped abusing Ambani-Adani. I want to ask from Telangana soil, let the shehzada announce how much has been lifted from Ambani-Adani. Has tempo loads of money reached the Congress? What deal has been arrived at, that abusing Ambani-Adani has stopped overnight?" he said while addressing an election rally at Vemulawada in Telangana.
"Certainly something is fishy. For five years, (they) abused Adani-Ambani and it stopped overnight. It means you have received some tempo loads of 'chori ka maal' (loot)...Kaale dhan ki kitni boriya bharkar ke rupaye maare hai (how many sacks of black money you have taken) You have to answer the nation," the PM said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the times are changing. "Dost dost na raha...! (Friends are no longer friends…!) After the completion of three phases of elections, today the Prime Minister has started attacking his own friends. It is becoming clear that Modi's chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the results," Kharge said in a social media post.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said the PM knows that people now understand the reality that he has handed over all wealth to big businessmen and he is clarifying after getting nervous.
Another party leader Pawan Khera said Modi is disturbed after three phases of elections and realises that the ground is shaking. He claimed the PM had collected Rs 8,200 crore from his "friends" and when he was losing the polls, he had turned against them. "When you cannot be theirs, how can you be ours or anyone else's in the country," he posed, adding that the Congress does not fear anyone or anything.
