Congress President Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a rally, said if the Congress “gets hold” of diamantaire Nirav Modi, it will give all the money belonging to the businessman, to the public. He was speaking at a public meeting in Ranga Reddy in Telangana on Saturday, 9 March.
“Narendra Modi transfers money into the account of Nirav Modi, but we will transfer the money into the accounts of poor. If we get hold of Nirav Modi, we will give his money to you.”Congress President Rahul Gandhi, as reported by The Hindustan Times
In fact, just hours after the interview of fugitive Nirav Modi surfaced on social media, Congress President Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi took to Twitter on 9 March saying that the video shows “uncanny similarities” between the business tycoon and the Prime Minister as “both believe they are above law”.
A Twitter War: Congress VS BJP
The ruling BJP was quick to retort by personally attacking Rahul Gandhi.
The Twitter war continued with the official Congress Twitter handle tweeting, “Dear BJP, Allegations without an iota of proof are your thing. We OTOH (on the other hand) have facts to back us up when we say PM Modi allowed Nirav Modi & Mehul Choksi to loot and scoot,” seeming to imply that the party would post proof to substantiate its claim at some point.
‘Impossible Is Possible Under Modi’
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had accused the BJP-led government for its “failure” to bring the fugitive tycoon back.
“Today (Saturday), fugitive diamantaire ‘chota Modi’ Nirav Modi has been traced to London -- living a luxurious life in a Rs 75-crore flat and wearing a jacket worth 10,000 British Pound,” he said, reported IANS.
“Is it right, (Narendra) Modiji? First rob Rs 23,000 crore from the banks, escape the country without any problem, and then ridicule the investigative agencies like the CBI and the ED?,” he said.
“You promised to bring back Rs 80,000 crore black money but instead you allowed Rs 1 lakh crore to be robbed from the banks. It is because Modi hai to mumkin hai (Impossible is possible, under Modi).”Randeep Singh Surjewala, Congress Spokesperson, reported IANS
“Impossible is possible under Modi. It seems that Modiji is running Bank Fraudster Settlement Company. In five years, Rs 1 lakh crore has been robbed by the fugitives and you were unable to catch them,” he added.
Nirav Modi is wanted in the Punjab National Bank scam involving fraudulent transactions amounting to crores of rupees.
An interview of the absconding business tycoon was posted by the UK-based newspaper The Telegraph on 8 March.
The video showed Nirav Modi walking in the streets of London, sporting a handlebar moustache and wearing a jacket made of ostrich hide. The reporter questions him about how long he intends to stay in London, if he is still trading in diamonds. Modi responds to every question calmly with, “Sorry. No comment.”
An extradition request for Nirav Modi has been pending with the UK authorities since September 2018.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times, IANS)
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