Panama Papers: ‘Follow Sharif and Quit,’ Rahul to Chhattisgarh CM

Last year, the Congress had alleged Singh’s son Abhishek held offshore assets as per the Panama Papers leak. File image of Rahul Gandhi. 

(Photo: Reuters)

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded the resignation of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh over the Panama Papers issue, citing the case of Nawaz Sharif who quit as Pakistani Prime Minister.

Sharif resigned after his and his family’s name figured in the Panama Papers scandal but Chief Minister Raman Singh’s family is also facing allegations in the Panama Papers issue and he has not yet resigned. It is because he belongs to the RSS and the BJP and they can indulge in corruption.

Rahul Gandhi

Last year, the Congress had alleged Singh's son Abhishek held offshore assets as per the Panama Papers leak. Panama Papers are leaked documents of about 1.15 crore files containing details of about 2.15 lakh bank accounts.

Both the chief minister and his son, the Lok Sabha MP from Rajnandgaon, had rubbished the allegations. The chief minister had described the charges as "baseless and unfounded".

Speaks Out Against Proposed Disinvestment

Gandhi, on a two-day tour to the state, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of overlooking the corruption of the BJP chief ministers. Gandhi alleged:

Modiji talks about fighting corruption, but he can’t see the corruption of the Chhattisgarh chief minister. The Rajasthan chief minister, too, has been linked to corruption, but Modiji is not speaking about it.

He was addressing a rally in Markel, a tribal village near here in Bastar district. The rally was organised to oppose the proposed disinvestment of the NMDC's steel plant in Nagarnar area. He addressed the gathering which mostly comprised adivasis and said:

For the first time in the country, I have seen that a steel plant, which is still being set up, is being privatised. People from the RSS and the BJP don’t want development of tribals. They want you to become slaves of rich people in big cities

Gandhi alleged that land and forests belonging to tribals are being snatched and given to industrialists. In 2004, Tata Steel proposed to set up a plant in Bastar for which people gave their land but later the company scrapped its plan. The acquired land was not given back to owners, the Congress leader alleged.