In a blistering riposte to the Congress’s stream of “questions” on relations between business houses, including those between the Adani group and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party has hit back, accusing the Congress of massive corruption in the years it has been in power.
The BJP released the first episode of “Congress Files”, in which it alleged, as a title in a video message, “Congress means corruption”.
“The Congress has looted Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 (nearly Rs 5 trillion) from the public in 70 years of its rule. That money could have been utilised for so many useful areas of security and development,” the party has alleged.
“In the first episode of Congress Files, watch how corruption and scams happened one after the other in the Congress rule …” the introduction by a professional narrator says. The video runs for about 185 minutes and promises more “revelations”.
The video “monetises” the corruption in terms of possible savings and equipment acquisition for India’s defence and national security, charging that the money that found its way into people’s pockets could have procured “24 INS Vikrant, 300 Rafale jets, and 1,000 Mangal Missions”, adding that because the country had to bear the cost of the Congress’ corruption, it lagged behind in the race for progress.
Referring to the last 10 years of the Congress governments, the BJP accused the AgustaWestland chief executive officer of giving a bribe of Rs 350 crore in the VVIP helicopter purchase. The party listed the scams under Congress rule, most of which have been laid at the door of the United Progressive Alliance, led by Manmohan Singh, whom the party refers to as ‘Mauni baba’, who was like ‘Nero’ who merrily watched while peopled siphoned off money. The video repeats charges of corruption and the money involved: “Coal scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, 2G Spectrum scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, MNREGA scam of Rs 10 lakh crore, Commonwealth scam of Rs 70,000 crore, a bribe of Rs 362 crore in the helicopter deal with Italy, Rs 12 crore bribe for the chairman of railway board…” it lists.
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Rather than calling it “loot”, one should term it “dacoity”, the video message says. The narrator goes on to call the Congress’s 10-year tenure in power from 2004 to 2014 a “lost decade”. In the introduction it says many development schemes fell by the wayside as the result of money siphoned off from the government. But it does not list any development schemes, and mentions only national security equipment that could have been bought.
An advance of the upcoming episode suggests the next one will be about Priyanka Gandhi’s sale of an MF Husain painting to YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his allegation that he was forced to buy it. In a charge sheet filed recently at a court in Mumbai in connection with a money-laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said Kapoor told the agency that the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of then Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New York. The family has not denied the sale.
At the end of the video message, the BJP says: “This is only the jhanki (trailer) of Congress’ corruption, the movie is still not over.”
