Leading the Opposition attack over the Adani-Hindenburg issue in Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a barrage of allegations, including that Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped Adani bag overseas contracts in various sectors propelling him to attain the second spot from 609th on global rich list within a span of nine years.

Later the BJP accused Rahul of making baseless, shameless and reckless allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and charged that the Congress and the Gandhi family were involved in “big scams” which “tarnished” the image of the country. “Deal and commission” have been part of the Congress’ working culture and the party has been in distress as the Modi Government eliminated these corrupt practices, BJP leader and former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

After three days of Budget session washout over the Adani row, the Congress and most of the Opposition parties resolved to participate in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.  The Opposition has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the Hindenburg Research report against Adani’s companies that triggered an unprecedented stock crash. The Adani Group has denied the charges.

Being the first Opposition Speaker in the Lok Sabha, Rahul linked Gautam Adani’s meteoric rise to Modi’s coming to power and said “magic” happened after 2014 drawing sharp response from the treasury benches, with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and several BJP leaders asking him not to level “wild allegations” and furnish proof of his claims.

The BJP hit back at Rahul, with Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media, “The Congress and its leaders were involved in all big scams which tarnished the image of India. Rahul, his mother Sonia Gandhi and her son-in-law Robert Vadra are on bail. It’s time to revive the memory of Rahul Gandhi on corruption. Corruption and giving protection to the corrupt have been the history of Rahul Gandhi and his family.”

Lok Sabha  Speaker Om Birla disapproved of Rahul displaying two pictures of Modi:  One in which he can be seen with Adani inside a plane and the other in which he is getting down from a plane which has an Adani logo on it. Reacting to Rahul displaying pictures of Modi with Adani during his speech, Prasad said the photographs of the Congress leader’s presence in the events of Nirav Modi and with Mehul Choksi, both fugitives, are also doing the rounds.

The Rajya Sabha after two brief adjournments in morning hours took up the proceedings post lunch. Congress MP Digvijay Singh said ‘Amrit Kaal’ has benefitted only a bunch of people and 21 people hold assets equal to 70 crore people to which Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar intervened and said he may be called to authenticate some documents. The Congress member agreed.

“How many times did Adani ji join you later on a visit? How many times has Adani ji travelled to a country immediately after you visited the country? How many times did Adaniji bag a contract in a foreign country after your visit there?” Rahul said in an attacking mode earning ire of the ruling BJP.

He asked how much money Adani has given to the BJP in the last 20 years, including through electoral bonds.

Rahul also hit out at Modi for slamming the Opposition over its criticism of the Rafale deal by allegedly overlooking the capabilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

“The (Adani-Modi) relationship began many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat CM. When most of India was asking questions of the prime minister, and was against the PM (then CM Narendra Modi), one man stood shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi, he was loyal to the prime minister and helped Mr Modi construct the idea of a resurgent Gujarat,” Rahul said.

Pointing out that Adani works in strategic sectors, he said the government must find out about these shell companies as to who controls them as this is a national security issue.

In June 2022, the chairman of Sri Lanka’s Ceylon electricity board informed a parliamentary hearing that President Rajapaksa told him that PM Modi “pressured” him to give the wind power contract to Adani, Gandhi alleged. This is not India’s foreign policy but a policy to enhance Adani’s businesses, the Congress leader said.