BHOPAL: Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s embarrassing gaffe at a public rally in Madhya Pradesh on Monday may land his party into trouble.
Addressing the Parivartan Rally at Jhabua College Ground in Jhabua district of Malwa-Nimar region, Rahul said, “Even the name of ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared in the Panama Papers, after which he was put in jail. But when the name of Mamaji’s (Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan) son appeared in Panama Papers, why was no action taken against him?”
According to media reports in the past, it was Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh son Abhishek, whose name had appeared in the Panama Papers for allegedly having assets in the British Virgin Islands. In fact, Rahul had himself raked up the issue in Raipur in August and had questioned why no action was taken against the Chhattisgarh CM’s son, a Lok Sabha MP.
State Congress leaders were tight-lipped over Rahul’s gaffe. But BJP’s state spokesperson Rajnish
Agrawal said the “irresponsible and baseless allegations” against the CM’s son showed that “Rahul Gandhi is often not in his senses”.
Another senior BJP leader told TNIE that “legal experts will be consulted and suitable action will be taken”.
Earlier in the day, Rahul had attacked PM Narendra Modi for his ‘wrong policies’ and ‘mistakes’ which, he claimed, resulted in the volatile situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Wherever PM Modi goes, he speaks about the surgical strike. But what has he actually done for those who conducted the surgical strikes? His wrong policies and mistakes have made Jammu and Kashmir burn and open the doors for terrorists,” Rahul said at a public meeting in Ujjain after offering prayers at the Mahakaleshwar temple.
Reiterating his party’s resolve to waive off farmers’ loans, he assured the people of keeping the promise. He also flayed the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government guilty for the closure of textile industry in Malwa region. Instead of helping the industry to compete with Chinese products, it allowed the factories to shut down, he said.
“Even Bangladesh has now gone ahead of us in textiles.”
“Even the Mahakumbh (in Ujjain) wasn’t spared when it came to corruption. The state government spent Rs 400 crore for cleaning the Kshipra river, but what was the result? The water of the same river if given to a minister will make him unconscious,” Rahul said, showing a bottle full of murky water.