Rahul Gandhi fumes over BJP question; attacks Centre over Adani issue

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday fumed over the question on Bharatiya Janata Party's allegations of Congress party "pressurising" the judiciary, and attacked the centre over the Adani issue.

The former MP arrived at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here in the national capital, for the meeting ahead of the next list of party candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections.

While reaching the AICC headquarters, Rahul was asked about the allegations put up by BJP on Congress's "pressurising" judiciary, to which he replied, "Why do you always say what BJP is saying...every time you say what BJP is saying".

He further added, "There is a very simple thing. Who does the Rs 20,000 crore in the shell companies of Adani, belong to? These are benami, whose is it?"

Along with him, several party leaders like DK Shivakumar, Verrappa Moily, Randeep Surjewala, DK Suresh, Priyank Kharge and Mohsina Kidwai also reached the AICC headquarters.

The elections are slated to be held in Karnataka on May 10, and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.

This comes after BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi for reaching the court along with many party leaders accusing it of "pressuring" the judiciary.

Earlier on Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with several senior party leaders went to the Gujarat court to file an appeal against his March 23 conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

He was accompanied by his sister and party leader Priyanka Gandhi. Along with her, the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh too came to the court.

The court in Gujarat's Surat granted bail till the disposal of the appeal to Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case.

The former MP from Wayanad was convicted and sentenced to two years in hail by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Varma on March 23 in a defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark in 2019 in Karnataka.

The matter pertains to Rahul's remarks at a rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019, Rahul, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?".

Following his conviction, Rahul was disqualified as an MP on March 24, as per a Supreme Court ruling in 2013. Under the ruling, any MP or MLA stands to be disqualified automatically if convicted and sentenced to 2 years or more.