'If any crony capitalism is happening...': FM slams Rahul for 'false allegations' against PM on Adani matter

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "false allegations" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Adani-Hindenburg row, and described him as a ''repeat offender'' in levelling such charges. ''If Rahul Gandhi really thinks that Adani has been given all these things (undue favours), it is not true,'' Sitharaman said responding to questions at a press conference at the Karnataka BJP office in Bengaluru.

"If any crony capitalism is happening, it is happening in Congress-led governments, and Rahul Gandhi will not speak a word about it," said Sitharaman in the capital of poll-bound Karnataka.

''Let me also say he's now becoming a repeat offender in terms of putting baseless allegations against the Prime Minister. We saw that prior to the 2019 elections, now he's doing it again. He doesn't seem to learn any lessons from all these false allegations that he wants to level against the Prime Minister,'' she said. Sitharaman also sought to know why Gandhi did not raise a voice against the ''undue favour'' to Adani by the Kerala government and a solar power project to the company in Rajasthan.

''It was the (then) Congress government (in Kerala), which gave on a platter Vizhinjam Port to Adani. It was not given on the basis of any tender. Now this is not this (Congress) government but the CPM government. But what stopped him from asking and demanding that Kerala cancel that order?'' Sitharaman said.

The ''entire solar power project'' has been given to Adani in (Congress-ruled) Rajasthan. ''What stops Rahul Gandhi?''