Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday defended the Rajasthan government over industrialist Gautam Adani’s promise to invest in the state and claimed that he would oppose the state government if they unfairly give business to Adani. The former Congress president has often criticized the BJP government for its ties with Adani and said that he is not against corporates but against monopolies.
Defending the Chief Minister, he said, “Mr Adani has committed 60,000 crore to Rajasthan. No Chief Minister can turn down such a proposal. In fact, it would not be right for a Chief Minister to turn down such an offer… The Rajasthan government has not used political power to help Mr. Adani in Rajasthan. The day they do so, I will stand in opposition.”
He continued, “My opposition is to the use of political power to help a select few businesses. My opposition is to politically helping two-three or four big businesses to monopolize every single business in this country.” I am not against it in any way. Corporates, I am not against business in any way, but I am against complete monopoly of Indian business as it weakens the country.
He, however, hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying, “What we are seeing today is being done by the BJP government, which is a complete monopoly of all businesses by helping a few select businesses.”
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also came out in support of the Rajasthan government on Saturday, writing on Twitter, “A lot of media hype is being created about Ashok Gehlot’s meeting with Adani. Adani wants to invest approx. 60,000 crore in Rajasthan no CM will say don’t invest. There are no specific rules or policies for Adani by the RJ government. Gehlot is very much against the Modi type of dynasty.”
Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also defended his decision, saying, “Whether it is Ambani, Adani or Amit Shah’s son, we will welcome all industrialists, because we want investment in Rajasthan.”
He further said, “I was listening to BJP’s allegations. They tried to create hurdles and made issue in media about Mr. Gautam Adani’s name. Raising this issue will cause huge loss to BJP. Rajendra Rathore Till then Can’t sleep properly unless he talks to the media, but his words have no value. This is not a private event, so investors, whether from BJP or Congress, can participate.”
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated the two-day ‘Invest Rajasthan Summit-2022’ on Friday. The aim of the summit is to solicit investment proposals, process them on a mission mode and bring them to fruition.
During the summit, Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group and Asia’s richest man, was seen sitting next to CM Gehlot. Adani also announced 65,000 crore investment in Rajasthan over the next five to seven years, setting up of 10,000 MW solar power facility, expansion of cement plants and upgradation of Jaipur International Airport.
With input from agencies
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