Tempo-loads remark: Rahul Gandhi dares Modi to send ED, CBI to probe

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's accusation that the Congress had a nexus with "Ambani and Adani", and his asking if the party has received "tempo loads of black money" from the two businessmen for its MP Rahul Gandhi to "stop abusing" them, Rahul Gandhi replied in a video on X stating, "The country knows the 'driver' and 'helper' of BJP's tempo of corruption."

Speaking in Hindi, Rahul Gandhi asked how the PM knew that Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani delivered money in a tempo (mini-truck), and whether he was speaking from "personal experience". He also questioned whether the PM was "nervous", since he never speaks about 'Ambani-Adani' at any public meeting as he did on Wednesday.

Instead, Rahul Gandhi invited PM Modi to "send the CBI and ED" to Ambani and Adani, which had raided the leaders of opposition that led to the imprisonment of chief ministers Hemant Soren in Jharkhand and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.

Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi charged BJP with a nexus with industrialists and said the entire BJP machinery is engaged in "spreading lies" about Rahul Gandhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed Modi's chair is "shaking" after three phases of the Lok Sabha polls. 

Dost dost na raha

"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 Modiji's chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the results," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

Jairam Ramesh said that the tide of this election has turned so "violently" that the "pappa" of "hum do hamare do" is turning on his own children. "Defeat is a foregone conclusion. The Prime Minister is now spooked even by his own shadow," he said in a video post on X.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in Telangana today (Thursday, May 9, 2024) to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. He will address public meetings at Narsapur (Medak) and Saroornagar (Malkajgiri).

(With inputs from agencies)