Corporate sector fuelling Modi's campaign: Sibal

Congress leader attacks BJP for its 'arrogance' and being dismissive of Congress

The corporate sector is fuelling the campaign of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, because it wants “freebies” from him which he had extended in Gujarat, Law Minister Kapil Sibal said on Sunday.     

He also said the BJP had failed to reach a “credible” alliance in various states even as he termed as “good riddance” some of the Congress leaders joining the opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.     

He attacked the BJP for “arrogance” and being dismissive of the Congress party. “Pink papers are with Modi, you know that. The corporate sector is with Modi. They are fuelling the campaign,” he told Karan Thapar in the Devil’s Advocate programme on CNN-IBN.

He was responding to suggestions that the Sensex has gone up after Modi was anointed as BJP’s PM candidate.     

Asked whether he was making a charge, Sibal said he was not making a charge. “We know,” he said.     

When asked whether the corporate sector or the media was being paid out by Modi, he said: “I did not say that.”     

“Rs 2.50 lakh per plate for dinner. Is that not something which tells you what the business community wants? They want freebies from Modi, as he has given them in Gujarat. That's why they are backing him. The fact of the matter is the business community in Gujarat, especially groups to whom he has given freebies, is the one fuelling the campaign,” he said. But he refused to name anyone.

“I am not talking about any individual,” he said.     

Responding to a question on people laughing off Rahul Gandhi's claim that the Congress would do better than the 2009 polls, Sibal said, “what he said, why he said, what was in his mind when he said so, whether it is right or wrong, I am not going to comment.  “But I am a little surprised people laughed at it, because that shows a sense of arrogance. And it is mostly the BJP which has become arrogant throughout the course of elections and dismissive of the Congress party,” he said.

He said leaders like Jagdbambika Pal joining BJP were “good riddance” for Congress. He also said Congress was “happy to get rid” of Ram Vilas Paswan whose LJP joined the NDA recently.     

Sibal said Congress was in the same position as compared to BJP on the issue of allies and BJP was not ahead as it lacked “credible alliances” in various states.     

He said BJP's alliance with Shiv Sena is now “breaking down”.     

On the issue of corruption, he said in the last 10 years, not a single Congress minister has either been charged or proceeded against on the issue of graft.