Uma Bharti cautions BJP against taking Kanda's support to form govt in Haryana
New Delhi, Oct 25: BJP vice president Uma Bharti on Friday asked the party not to forget its "moral mission" and suggested that it should not seek support from controversial Independent MLA Gopal Kanda, who is accused of abetting suicides of a woman and her mother, to form government in Haryana.
In her tweets, Bharti, also a former union minister, said she will request the BJP not to forget its moral mission and ensure that it gets support from people who are as "clean" as its own workers are.
Whether Kanda is a criminal or innocent will be decided by court but he cannot be absolved of his crime because he has won an election, Bharti, once a firebrand Hindutva leader, said.
"We must form government in Haryana but we should ensure that we have support from people (MLAs) who are as clean as BJP workers are," she said.
In 2012, a former air hostess, who was employed with Kanda's company, had committed suicide, accusing him of harassment.
Police, during its investigation, accused him of raping her and also charged him with abetment to her suicide. Her mother also later ended her life. Kanda was booked for abetting her suicide too.
The matter is in court now.
Wary of adverse publicity, senior BJP leaders have made it a point to not be seen with Kanda, who has announced his support to the party as it works to cobble together the support of a majority of MLAs to form the government in Haryana.
Asked about the simmering row over the issue, BJP general secretary Anil Jain said the party is aware of the matter and will take a call on this.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
