New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi hit out at the Narendra Modi govt Saturday, this time accusing it of being “kind-hearted” to the country’s “economic enemies”, days after the Centre informed Supreme Court about recovering Rs 18,000 crores from absconding mega defaulters Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
On Wednesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a three-judge apex court bench that court orders against coercive action on defaulters have impeded the Centre and ED from recovering as much Rs 67,000 crore under the PMLA Act.
Gandhi, in a Twitter post, said that recovering just one-fourth of the money owed by these businessmen in seven years is “not sufficient”.
67 हजार करोड़ की चोरी कर देश छोड़ चुके धनपशुओं से विगत 7 वर्षों में मात्र एक चौथाई धन वसूली कतई पर्याप्त नही है।
देश के ‘आर्थिक शत्रुओं’ पर इस ‘रहमदिली’ का बोझ आम हिंदुस्तानी अपने कंधों पर ढो रहा है, जब बचत खाते की ब्याज दरें आज ऐतिहासिक रूप से निचले स्तर पर हैं। pic.twitter.com/l8nNsbBL0a
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) February 26, 2022
Reacting to a news report, Gandhi wrote that the common citizens of India were “bearing the weight” of the country’s “economic enemies” and the government’s “kind-heartedness” towards them.
Gandhi, who is the BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, has been repeatedly launching tirades against his own party and government since the introduction of the three contentious farm laws, which were eventually repealed last year.
Last October, Gandhi had hit out at the Centre over an incident in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri, considered to be his stronghold, when Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s convoy allegedly ran over protesting farmers, killing eight people.
Since then, both Varun and his mother Maneka Gandhi, a former Union minister and currently the MP from Sultanpur, were dropped from the BJP’s national executive — an important decision-making body within the party.
As rift became evident between the Gandhis and BJP, there were speculations that Varun might quit the BJP and move to another party. The Pilibhit MP has neither denied nor confirmed such a move.
Varun Gandhi’s tiff with BJP
This is not the first time that Gandhi has spoken out against the government’s lack of action towards high-profile economic offenders.
Last week, Gandhi took a swipe at the Centre by listing names of Mallya, Nirav Modi and former chairman of ABG Shipyard Rishi Agarwal, along with the amount they owe to banks. He stressed that a strong government is expected to take “strong action” against corruption.
विजय माल्या: 9000 करोड़
नीरव मोदी: 14000 करोड़
ऋषि अग्रवाल: 23000 करोड़
आज जब कर्ज के बोझ तले दब कर देश में रोज लगभग 14 लोग आत्महत्या कर रहे हैं, तब ऐसे धन पशुओं का जीवन वैभव के चरम पर है।
इस महा भ्रष्ट व्यवस्था पर एक ‘मजबूत सरकार’ से ‘मजबूत कार्यवाही’ की अपेक्षा की जाती है।
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) February 18, 2022
Earlier this month, Gandhi called out the government over Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit’s appointment as the new JNU Vice Chancellor. He had said such “mediocre appointments serve to damage our human capital”.
Gandhi is also absent from the campaigning scene in the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections, despite being an MP from the state.
(Edited by Monami Gogoi)
Also read: Expect strong action from strong govt: BJP MP Varun Gandhi’s fresh dig at Modi govt on ABG fraud