Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sparks row over ’tempo-loads of money’ sent by Adani, Ambani; BJP reacts

Amid the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has become a part of new controversy following his statement in Adani and Ambani.

In an interview with The Red Mike, Chowdhury said that if Adani and Ambani sent tempo-loads of money, he would not speak against them. Following this, the BJP hit out at him saying Chowdhury exposed the actual 'hafta vasooli model' of the Congress and the INDIA bloc.

Targeting Adhir, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, as quoted by Hindustan Times, "He (Adhir) has openly said that if they receive money bags, they keep quiet about any issue in Parliament and if they do not get money, they create ruckus. He even gave an example that if the groups they are targeting give them money, they become quiet."

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Adding more, he said, “Now going back to Rahul Gandhi's speeches, he has stopped taking the names of the two people he often mentioned... During the UPA rule, Congress has earned ₹12 lakh crores by doing all this... INC means 'I Need Corruption', and this is an open game of political extortion. Whatever they say inside or outside Parliament is just for money...”

The recent statements by Chowdhury arrived after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently took Adani and Ambani's names in the election rallies and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi why he stopped naming them in the election campaigning.

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Taking a jab PM Modi also asked if Gandhi received tempo-loads of money. To this, Rahul Gandhi asked Modi how he knew the money came in a tempo and why he was not ordering an ED probe.

What Adhir said?

On being asked, where he kept the money that, according to PM Modi's allegations, reached the Congress leaders in tempos, Adhir said laughing, "Where is the money? I am a BPL (below poverty line) person. I need money very much. I openly say that I am poor and I have no money for the election contest. Without money, it's becoming very difficult to fight elections nowadays. I don't even need a tempo, if Adani sends me a bag of money, that will be enough for me."

When the interviewer asked, "But you speak against them in Parliament?" To this, Adhir replied, "Yes, I do because they don't send us money. If they send, people become silent."

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When the interviewer asked, "So you will become silent if you get money? This is what you are saying?" To this, the Congress leader said, "First let them send."

On ED and CBI, Adhir replied, "Who is scared of ED? ED is idiot. It dances to the tune of PM Modi and then releases after the court intervenes. See, Kejriwal is also released."