NEW DELHI: A new ‘power’ drama unfolded on Thursday amid a war of words between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Rahul Gandhi faced power outrage during his press conference on Gautam Adani’s indictment in the United States.
As leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi blamed ‘Adani power, Modi power’ for the electricity cut during the press conference, BJP, in return, took a jibe at the Congress leader saying his colleague “Jairam Ramesh must have cut the power”.
During the day, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in New Delhi demanding immediate arrest of Adani after the industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud. The mic, however, went off in the middle of his statement for a few seconds. When the power came back, Rahul Gandhi mockingly said, “Adani power, Modi power, don’t know which power it is. But both of them are one.”
After a few hours, BJP’s Sambit Patra also held a rebuttal press conference and took a swipe at the power cut during Gandhi’s press conference alleging that it must have been cut by Gandhi own colleague Jairam Ramesh.
“Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating the same thing in press conference. There was a power cut during his press conference for which he again blamed Adani and PM Modi. It’s his office, his electricity … I think his own people must have cut the power. I think Jairam Ramesh must have cut the power,” BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said.
Patra also accused Rahul Gandhi of using the issue just before Parliament session to create chaos. “It is Rahul Gandhi’s usual tactic to attack India and structures that defend country, he similarly raked up Rafale issue,” Patra added.
Watch: BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra’s press conference
LIVE: BJP National Spokesperson Dr. Sambit Patra addresses press conference at BJP HQ, New Delhi
Meanwhile, the Adani Group has rejected the charges made by US prosecutors.
“The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied,” the conglomerate said in a statement, adding that “all possible legal recourse will be sought”.
The indictment accuses Adani and multiple subordinates of paying huge sums of more than $250 million in bribes to government officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
The deals were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over roughly 20 years.
“The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations,” the statement added.
“We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws,” it added.