After Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP said the states that allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group for solar power deals, as mentioned in the US indictment, were ruled by the Opposition. 

While addressing a press conference on Thursday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi for attempting to tarnish the Prime Minister’s image. The Congress MP alleged that Narendra Modi was hand in glove with Gautam Adani in corrupt activities.

Sambit Patra underlined that none of the four states mentioned in US charges against Adani Group had a BJP CM. He added that Congress and its allies were in power in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

The US prosecutors recently said the Adani Group paid $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2021-2023. However, the Adani Group has called the allegations baseless.

The states named in the US indictment are Odisha (then ruled by Naveen Patnaik’s BJD), Tamil Nadu (under DMK), Chhattisgarh (under Congress), and Jammu and Kashmir (under Central rule). Andhra Pradesh was then helmed by Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress.

Criticizing Rahul Gandhi, Sambit Patra said that it was the Leader of the Opposition’s usual tactic to attack India and structures that defend the country.

The Puri MP further added that Rahul Gandhi had raked up the Rafale issue in 2019 in a similar fashion, mentioning that the Congress leader had claimed that a big revelation would be made. During the Covid pandemic, Rahul Gandhi used to do press conferences in a similar fashion over vaccines, Sambit Patra continued. 

Speaking on Rahul Gandhi’s claim that the Congress was doing the work of the judiciary, the BJP spokesperson stressed that both the Congress MP and Sonia Gandhi were out on bail in the National Herald case.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday announced its first list of 11 candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, which is due in February next year.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said the party has released the first list of 11 candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. He said the names were finalised in the political affairs committee meeting chaired by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.  

Rai noted that most of these 11 seats were not held by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at present.

The 11-candidate list includes Brahm Singh Tanwar fielded from Chhatarpur; Anil Jha from Kirari; Deepak Singhla from Vishwas Nagar; Sarita Singh from Rohtas Nagar; BB Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar; Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur; Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad from Seelampur; Veer Singh Dhingan from Seemapuri; Gaurav Sharma from Ghonda; Manoj Tyagi from Karawal Nagar and Sumesh Shokeen from Matiala.

The list of candidates includes six defectors: former BJP leaders Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha, and BB Tyagi, along with former Congress members Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad, Veer Dhingan, and Sumesh Shokeen, who have recently joined the AAP.

This announcement from the party led by Kejriwal comes shortly after a significant loss, as key member Kailash Gahlot resigned to join the BJP. Gahlot, who served as a minister in the AAP cabinet, departure is seen as a major blow ahead of the February 2025 Delhi elections.

Kejriwal on Sunday called the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections a “dharmayudh” (righteous war), encouraging his party workers to focus not on individual candidates but to act as if he is contesting all 70 seats in Delhi himself.

The former Delhi chief minister criticised the BJP, claiming that despite its vast resources, the party has failed to serve the people of the national capital due to a lack of will.

“We may be a small party with limited resources, while the BJP has enormous funds and power, but they have done nothing for the people of Delhi because they lack the will to serve. Don’t focus on the individual candidates. Work as if I am contesting all 70 seats in Delhi,” Kejriwal urged his supporters.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated. 

The Senior Congress leader’s statement follows after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, with his alleged involvement in a plan to pay over $250 million in bribes to government officials in India for solar energy contracts.  

Mentioning that Gautam Adani has been indicted in the United States, Rahul Gandhi questioned why the billionaire is still running around as a free man in India. He stated that it is now pretty clear and established in America that Gautam Adani has broken both American law and Indian law. 

Addressing a press conference, the Congress MP claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He said that they have been raising the allegation with the Madhabi Buch issue. Taking a sharp dig at the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi is protecting Gautam Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Further, taking a swipe at PM Modi’s slogan, Ek hai to safe hai, the Leader of Opposition asserted that as long as the prime minister and Gautam Adani are together, they are safe in India. He added that no actions will be taken against Adani in India. 

He further mentioned that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Gautam Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free. He demanded that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector, Madhabi Puri Buch should be removed and probed for not taking actions.

Rahul Gandhi also said that he will bring up the issue of Gautam Adani’s alleged involvement in corruption during the upcoming winter session of Parliament set to begin on Monday. He asserted that being the leader of opposition, it is his responsibility to raise the issue, and assured that they will expose the entire network, which will eventually collapse.