Senior BJP leader and Union finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman slam Rahul Gandhi for his allegation of favouritism to Adani by the Modi government. While addressing a press conference she called Rahul Gandhi a repeat offender.
“If Rahul Gandhi really thinks that Adani has been given all these things (undue favours), it is not true. 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, and now he is 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,” Nirmala Sitaraman said. She accused Rahul Gandhi of hypocrisy in his favouritism to Adani’s allegation by saying that the former Congress government in Kerala gave the contract for Vizhinjam Port construction to Adani without any tender. “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?” she also said that the entire solar project in Rajasthan has been given to Adani by the congress-ruled state government.
Nirmala Sitaraman also said at the press conference that her party has an emotional connection to Bengalooru, recalling the arrests in Bangalore of two senior BJP central leaders during the emergency declared by the Indira Gandhi government in the late 1970s.
She alleged that during the tenure of UPA, farmers in North Karnataka were in trouble and she claimed that the situation only improved after NDA came to power. “BJP has an emotional connection to Bangalore. Two of our central leaders were arrested in Bangalore during the Emergency. People of North Karnataka were suffering during UPA, farmers were in trouble. We repeatedly brought this to the attention of the then UPA government,” she said.
Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that infrastructure projects in Karnakata got the necessary fillip after the arrival of bjp governments both in the centre and in Karnataka. ” Roads, highways, rail services, infrastructure, agriculture, and labour welfare are happening in Karnataka after our arrival. 1 lakh crore worth of road work has been done in the state including Bangalore-Mysore Express Highway. Between 2009-14, a similar grant of Rs 835 crore was given for railway works in the state. 7,561 crores have been given to Railways till now since our government came.” Sitharaman said.
It is Nirmala Sitharaman’s first visit to Karnataka after the assembly election in the state was announced by the election commission. The Karnataka assembly election is scheduled to take place on May 10.