Only Adani surname can ensure prosperity in Gujarat: Rahul Gandhi

People in Gujarat can get land at low prices and make profits of thousands of crores if they have the Adani surname, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday. Lashing out at Narendra Modi at a public rally in Kanpur, Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate of doling out undue favours to the Adani business group.

Referring to the proximity of Adani to the Gujarat chief minister, Gandhi said that in Gujarat if people have Adani as their name, they are guaranteed land at low price and profits of thousands of crores. "Any Ramesh, Mahesh or anybody cannot prosper in Gujarat, but if you happen to be an Adani, all gates of help will be open for you," Gandhi said.

He also accused Modi of giving undue favours worth Rs.40,000 crore to the Adani group. Trashing the much-hyped Gujarat model of development, Gandhi alleged that large-scale swindling of central government funds was taking place in Gujarat. "There is only one model in Gujarat and that is to help industrialists and big corporate houses," he said.

Kanpur is witnessing a close contest between former union minister Murli Manohar Joshi of the BJP and Sriprakash Jaiswal of the Congress, who is the incumbent parliamentarian from the city that will vote April 30.