‘Stop trying image makeover as anti-corruption crusader': Kharge to PM Modi

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Opposition saying that all the "corrupt elements" have joined hands, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, March 29, hit back accusing him of attempting an "image makeover". In a series of tweets, he said, "Whose Rs 20,000 crore is in Adani shell company? Are Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, and Jatin Mehta, part of your 'corruption-free nation' campaign? And, are you the convenor of this alliance?"

"By projecting yourself as an 'anti-corruption crusader', don't try an image makeover," he added. In another tweet, he questioned why the Karnataka government was called the "40% commission government.” “Why are you a part of the corrupt Meghalaya government? Are BJP leaders not involved in Rajasthan's Sanjeevini scam, Madhya Pradesh's Poshan scam, Chhattisgarh's NAN scam?” Kharge asked.

Accusing the Prime Minister of "misusing" the probe agencies against the opposition leaders, the veteran Congress leader stated that while the Enforcement Directorate has been unleashed on several opposition leaders, the BJP leaders are given a clean chit. "You speak about having a 56-inch chest, then prove it by constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the Adani issue," Kharge said.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi launched a scathing attack against the Congress and other like-minded parties, stating that some political outfits have started a 'Bhrashtachari Bachao Abhiyan' under which all corrupt elements have joined hands.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a residential complex and auditorium of the BJP on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg in Delhi, Modi said, "All the corrupt faces of India are now coming together on one stage. At a time when India is on the cusp of achieving great things, it is natural that anti-India forces inside and outside the country are coming together."