Mumbai: The Congress on Thursday hit back at PM Narendra Modi over his ‘Michel Mama’ barb, claiming ‘Modi Mama’ and the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal were “business rivals”. Former union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said, “Modi has launched a ‘Prime Minister’s loot-the-country-and-run-away’ scheme for businessmen like Vijay Mallya”. Reacting to Shinde’s allegations, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said it was part of Congress’ strategy of making “baseless allegations”.
“Michel Mama and Modi Mama are business rivals. Hence Modi is making baseless allegations,” the senior Congress leader said. Shinde, who hails from Solapur, also said the Prime Minister made a “poor attempt” to tell the people in the south Maharashtra district that he was doing great work for them by launching several schemes. “He should have also told people about his ‘Prime Minister’s loot the country and run away scheme’ meant for his industrialist friends such as Nirav Modi, Mehul bhai (Mehul Choksi), Mallya and Lalit Modi,” Shinde said.
Christian Michel was arrested in the UAE in December 2018 and extradited to India. Speaking at a rally in Solapur on Wednesday, Modi had cited media reports to allege that Michel was lobbying for rivals of the French firm Dassault, which manufactures Rafale, and demanded that the Congress explain which of its leaders was connected with ‘Michel Mama’.
In return, Shinde alleged that Modi was helping his industrialist friends. “Modi, who has launched ‘PM’s mediation scheme’ in Rafale and other matters for his industrialist friends, does not want any competitor in the business and hence this outburst,” he said.