The Congress said on Wednesday that it is ready to go even to jail in its fight against corruption. The party was responding to questions about the notice to its spokesperson from the Reliance Group asking them to desist from making adversary comments against its Chairman Anil Ambani.
Party’s spokesperson Shakti Sinh Gohil said the Congress will continue to raise the Rafale “scam” in the future too. “Rafale is an iconic scam by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We, as a responsible political party, have been raising this issue based on facts available. Modi is scared of scams. But if he is trying to scare us too, our president Rahul Gandhi has given a message to all of us that do not scare,” Gohil said. “If we had to go to jail in the fight against corruption, we are ready to do so,” he added.
Ambani had sent two letters to Rahul Gandhi on the issue. He said in the latest letter that Gandhi has been “misinformed, misdirected and misled” by malicious vested interests and corporate rivals. He said Reliance’s role is merely to offset exports and export obligations and more than 100 MSMEs are to participate in the contract, along with public sector undertakings like BEL and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Gujarat discom & Adani
Meanwhile, the Congress has levelled another allegation of “cronyism” against the BJP and said a notification by the Centre asking Gujarat government to provide relief to Adani Power, Essar and Tata Power so that they can continue the supply of power to Gujarat Urja Vidyut Nigam (GUVNL) is a direct violation of a Supreme Court verdict on the matter. Party leader Jairam Ramesh said the electricity production began in 2007 and five years later, in 2012, these companies requested to raise the prices and refused to produce it on the agreed price. “When the matter went to Supreme Court, the court gave a verdict on 11 April 2017, stating that the companies’ request does not hold any validity,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh said the Centre and Gujarat state government should be held for contempt of court and added that the relief that is to be provided to these three companies will be a burden upon five States that are purchasing electricity from Gujarat, their stakeholders, and the banks.