The Rahul ‘earthquake’: Companies paid crores to Modi

After days of suspense over the “evidence of personal corruption against the Prime Minister” and the “earthquake” he said he was going to cause, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cited entries in a corporate account of money allegedly paid to Narendra Modi.

Rahul’s allegations at a public rally in Mehsana (Gujarat) had been made earlier through a PIL in the Supreme Court, on which a Division Bench has already warned petitioners to come up with solid evidence.

On Wednesday, Rahul ignored the caution advised by the Supreme Court and went ahead with charging the PM of corruption. He gave dates and the exact amount of money that was allegedly paid — as many as nine times between October 2013 and March 2014.

The BJP immediately rubbished the allegations as “false, baseless and malafide”, with Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad attributing Rahul’s outburst to “frustration at having lost popular support as well as a design to protect family interest in the Agusta Westland chopper scam”.

The Congress, in the meantime, staunchly backed Rahul’s assertions and demanded an official enquiry. Rahul said he was making public his charges because he was not allowed to present them before Parliament.

“You (Modi) did not allow me to speak in Parliament. I will describe the reasons for not letting me speak… Any business entity keeps record of its transactions. On November 22, 2014, the Income Tax Department conducted raids on Sahara, a very large corporate house,” he said. “During that raid, the IT Department found some documents, which are on record. I want to share with you the contents of those documents,” he said.

“The Sahara entries showed that on October 30, 2013, Narendra Modi was given ₹2.5 crore. On November 12, 2013, ₹5 crore was given. On November 27, 2013, ₹2.5 crore was given. On November 29, 2013, ₹5 crore was given. On December 6, 2013, ₹5 crore was given. On December 19, ₹5 crore was given.

“On January 13, 2014, ₹5 crore was given. On January 28, 2014, ₹5 crore was given. On February 22, 2014, ₹5 crore was given,” alleged Rahul.

He also alleged that another computer entry by a separate corporate group suggested ₹12 crore was given to ‘Gujarat Chief Minister’, and demanded that an official inquiry be conducted. He accused the Centre of brushing the matter under the carpet to protect the PM.

“These records are with the IT Department. This paper has the signature of IT officials. The IT officials have recommended an inquiry. Why has the enquiry not been conducted?

“You kept the country in the dark, you are raising questions on their legitimately earned income in the demonetisation drive. I am asking you on behalf of the farmers, the women, the honest citizens of this country, is this information true? When will you do an inquiry?” Rahul said.

Citing the Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi cases, the Gandhi scion said the Centre recently waived ₹1,200 crore of loans taken by Mallya.

“In the guise of making each of you rich by ₹15 lakh, Modi cheated the entire country. When the people questioned him, he staged another drama, surgical strikes, and then of corruption, black money…etc.”

Quoting former RSS-BJP leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, who is now Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, Rahul said Modi is a “mega event master who can create a spectacle out of anything. He is a great planner.”

Questioning the real objective behind demonetisation, Rahul said 50 of the most influential people in India held ₹8 lakh crore by way of loans from PSU banks, which had turned this burden into NPAs, and were no longer able to advance loans.

“Modi wanted to waive these NPAs as these same people had made him the PM.

“Now, he has found a way out of it: Modi has forced the people to deposit their hard-earned money into the banks which will keep it for some months so that the NPAs could be shown to have ended.”

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