Sahara, Birla Payments Are Rahul Gandhi’s Exposé Against Modi

The entire north Gujarat belt has a sizeable Patel population, which held violent protests against BJP.

• Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi claimed Sahara and Birla Group made 9 payments to Narendra Modi between 2013 and 2014.
  
• The payments, he claimed, were made while Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat.
  
• Gandhi played the allegations up while addressing a rally in Mehsana, Gujarat.
  
• BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad condemned Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against “pure as Ganga” Modi.
  
• Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala demanded impartial probe into the matter.
  

Opposition Demands Probe Into Rahul Gandhi’s Allegations

Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), took to Twitter to voice his concern after Rahul Gandhi leveled corruption allegations against Modi.

Serious charges of indulging in personal-political corruption while sermonising against black money-corruption is Modi's trademark hypocrisy

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) December 21, 2016

D Raja, CPI national secretary said, “It's a case which deserves high-level probe so that people get to know the truth”.

Hum maang karte hai ki Rahul Gandhiji ne jo aarop lagaye hai uspe PM khud apni baat ko spasht karein ki kya tathya hai ismei. (We demand that the PM clarify if Rahul Gandhi’s allegations are based on proof.) This is a serious issue. SC-monitored enquiry must immediately be conducted 

Lalu Prasad Yadav, RJD Chief 

Congress Demands Impartial Investigation

After Ravi Shankar Prasad likened Narendra Modi to river Ganga, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the river Ganga is dirty and needs cleaning. He said:

The credibility, honesty and integrity of PM Modi is at stake. We (the Congress) have great respect for PM Modi. PM Modi must come forward and say whether or not he took money from the Sahara and Birla Groups.

Surjewala claimed that Rs 25 crore was recovered in an income tax raid on the Birla Group’s office on 15 October 2013. A laptop was also recovered in the raid, Surjewala claimed. The laptop, he said, had an email which read:

“Gujarat CM, 25 crore, 12 done, rest?”

IT dept asked Birla group Pres Amitabh abt entry of 'Guj CM 25Cr(12 paid,rest ?)'. He admitted entries,claimed Guj CM meant Guj Alkali&Chem! pic.twitter.com/0PsZNXRnln

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) November 26, 2016

He sought an unbiased investigation into the allegations made against Modi as the CBI, he said, has never even questioned Modi in this matter.

Surjewala said that Rahul Gandhi was only asking whether Modi took the money or not. This, he said, is no reason for the BJP to use foul language.

BJP Hammers Gandhi on AgustaWestland, National Herald, and Electoral Failure

Invoking various scams including the AgustaWestland scam, coal scams, the National Herald case, and Congress’ electoral failure in his defence of the BJP, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that that the Congress party did not spare “the sky, space, land, under the land or even the sea” in their corruption.

Rahul Gandhi is leading his party to disastrous defeat. Now they don’t even think his party is capable enough to run municipalities. 

“The whole history of Congress stinks with corruption,” Prasad said, adding, “I condemn the irresponsible, shameful, baseless allegations of Rahul Gandhi with all the contempt it deserves.”

Prasad claimed that the Supreme Court has observed thrice that there is no proof supporting allegations in the Sahara case against Modi.

When asked about the claims made by Rahul Gandhi at his Mehsana rally, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, dismissed them completely:

Rahul Gandhi ji ki baaton ko kyun seriously lete hain? Congress wale bhi unki baaton ko serious nahi lete. (Why are you taking Rahul Gandhi’s words seriously? Even Congress does not take him seriously.)