Modi throttling democracy to save Adani: Himachal Cong chief Pratibha Singh

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of throttling democracy to save business tycoon Gautam Adani and called the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha a “well-planned strategy”.

Addressing a press conference here, she said the Congress would not allow the “murder” of democracy in the country.

The Congress leader was disqualified from the Lok Sabha under the Representation of People Act after a Gujarat court sentenced him to two years in jail in the Modi surname defamation case.

Singh claimed that the BJP “targeted” Gandhi as part of a well-planned strategy because he had been raising the Adani issue in Parliament, and had asked about the relationship between the PM and Adani.

She said Congress-led governments have established big public sector enterprises since independence and claimed that Modi is now selling them to his “his friends”.

The Congress leader said the hearing in the defamation case resumed just nine days after Rahul Gandhi's speech in Parliament on the Adani “scam”.

Weeks back, US-based Hindenburg Research had accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Its report led to the tanking of the group's shares.

The Congress has been demanding a probe by the joint parliamentary committee into the issue.

The Himachal leader said Gandhi was “not allowed” to clarify in Parliament his remarks made abroad.

The ruling BJP had slammed him over his remark that democracy is “under attack” in India.