Rahul hits out again, asks Modi to answer charges

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi again, asking him to explain if he took bribes or not as the Gujarat Chief Minister.

Addressing a "Jan Aakrosh" rally here, a day after he alleged that Modi took money from corporate houses while in Gujarat, Gandhi said: "Make as much fun of me as you like... but answer my question.

"Today the Prime Minister mocked at me but did not answer my questions," he said. "I will ask the same question again. Did you indulge in corruption or not?"

Gandhi reiterated that seized Income Tax department documents showed that Modi got kickbacks of Rs 65 crore from two corporate houses and asked him to come clean on this.

Earlier, speaking at an event in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, Modi mocked at Gandhi, commenting sarcastically if the allegation hurled on Wednesday was the "earthquake" he had been threatening for days.

A livid Gandhi on Thursday vowed to raise the issue in Parliament too.

"He (Modi) got kickbacks in nine instalments over a period of six months. On November 22, 2014 there was a raid on Sahara. The Income Tax Department raided them and seized their records," Gandhi alleged.

He said the seized entries showed that on October 30, 2013 Rs 2.50 crore, on November 12 Rs 5 crore, on November 27 Rs 2.5 crore and on November 29 Rs 5 crore were given.

"These are all in records of the Income Tax department," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader said between December 6, 2013 and February 22, 2014, Rs 25 crore was given to Modi.

"This record is with the Income Tax department for two-and-a-half years. Income Tax people had said there should be a probe into this. There is one more record of the Birla Group... 'Gujarat CM (to be paid) Rs 25 crore, Rs 12 crore paid, the rest?' This is what is written there," Gandhi added.

Gandhi said the decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was not meant to be a battle against corruption or black money but was aimed at derailing the country's poor.

"Modiji said thieves are standing in queues (to deposit old currency). I saw 100-200 outside a bank. They were not thieves, they were the poor people of India.

"I did not see a single rich person in the line. There was not one person in suit-boot," he said.

--IANS

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