PM Narendra Modi received Rs 40 crore from Sahara as Gujarat chief minister: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Upping the ante against the government, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of receiving Rs 40 crore from the Sahara group as the chief minister of Gujarat during 2013-14. "According to Sahara group diary entries, Narendra Modi was paid nine times in a period of six months," Rahul Gandhi said in a direct attack on PM. Rahul said that these records are with I-T department for last two and half years yet no action has been taken. "As per record with the I-T department, Rs 2.5 crore was given to Modi on 30 October 2013, Rs 5 crore on 12 November 2013, Rs 2.5 crore on 27 November 2013, Rs 5 crore on 29 November 2013," he said while addressing a rally in Mehsana town of North Gujarat. "Entries shows that Rs 5 crore was given to Modi on 6 December 2013, Rs 5 crore on 19 Dec 2013, Rs 5 crore on 13 January 2014, Rs 5 crore on 28 January 2014 and Rs 5 crore on 22 February 2014," Rahul added. Rahul had recently alleged that he had information about "personal corruption" involving Modi. The Congress leader who yesterday likened the repeated changes in the rules to Modi's changing of "clothes" said that PM Modi's aim is to keep money of the poor in banks for at least 6-7 months so that he can waive off rich people's loans. "When a farmer or middle class people take loans from banks and are unable to pay they are put behind bars but when the same is done by rich, they are not called 'chor' but are called defaulters," the Congress leader said. Reacting to Gandhi's allegations, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in New Delhi that the charges are "baseless, false, shameful and mala fide" and an attempt to divert attention from the AgustaWestland probe as names of Congress leaders and the "family" are coming up. Party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said Gandhi was immature and was just indulging in bluff and bluster because people are not taking him seriously. "People of India have stopped taking him seriously. Rahul Gandhi is just bluff and bluster. There is no substance in what he says. He is just showing his and his party's incompetence," he said. Gandhi said he was raising the issue on behalf of the country which needs answers over the questions raised against the Prime Minister. PM Modi takes bribes and then shamelessly foists Demonetisation on Indians under the garb of 'fighting Black Money," Congress tweeted after the rally quoting its Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.