Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Have proof of corruption by PM, will expose him: Rahul Maha govt, Marathas agree to talk THE PROTESTS
BLAME GAME Gandhi says not allowed to disclose info in LS, BJP calls it a joke
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that he knew about “personal corruption” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was “terrified” of the information, but he wasn’t being allowed by the government to speak about it in Parliament.
Gandhi gave no details, and a government minster sought to dismiss the charge as “the biggest joke of the year”. “Read my lips. The Prime Minister is personally terrified with the information I have. I have information on the personal corruption of (the) Prime Minister,” Gandhi said at a press conference in the Parliament building. “I want to reveal in Lok Sabha… The government is not allowing me to speak. PM is afraid that if he lets me speak then his balloon will burst.”
Gandhi has been sparring with Modi over the recall of high-value banknotes, but it’s the first time he has cast aspersions on the integrity of the Prime Minister, who rode to power two years ago vowing to stamp out corruption.
Gandhi’s accusations are likely to worsen already tense ties between the government and the Opposition over the demonetisation of 500- and 1000-rupee bank bills, a tussle that has stalled Parliament. Gandhi had earlier said if he speaks in Parliament there would be “an earthquake and Modi would not be able to sit”.
In a sign that Gandhi could Mumbaiites stand in a queue to withdraw money from a bank at Fort on Wednesday.
come under pressure to reveal the information, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, a bitter rival to both the Congress and BJP, tweeted, “If Rahul Gandhi actually has papers on Modiji’s personal involvement in corruption then why doesn’t he expose it outside Parl?”
The response from the government to Gandhi’s allegations was swift. Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar dared Gandhi to provide proof. “His allegations are totally baseless… He has made himself a laughing stock,” he said. Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju called the allegations “the biggest joke of the year”.
Gandhi’s allegations took even his party colleagues and allies by surprise.
For the first time since the Maratha community began protesting three months ago, exposing social and economic fault-lines in the state, the Maharashtra government has achieved a breakthrough.
On Wednesday, it asked the protesters to discuss their demands with the government, and the protestors agreed.
After a protest march in Nagpur, a delegation of the organisers, Sakal Maratha Samaj, met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and discussed their demands.
Education minister Vinod Tawde, who heads a government committee on reservations for Marathas, suggested to Fadnavis the organisers form a group of prominent people from the community, such as retired judges and professors, as the issues were legal, not emotional. The organisers said they will submit a response to the state, but before that, will meet on December 18 in Pune to discuss Fadnavis’ offer.
“The most important thing is, we have started a dialogue. Proper The protestors after a meet with CM Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur. discussions are expected soon,” revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said in the Assembly.