In a charged political attack during his visit to Odisha, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that the state government is being controlled by industrialist Gautam Adani, sparking widespread controversy. “Adani runs Odisha Government, Adani runs Narendra Modi,” Gandhi declared before a crowd of supporters, accusing the state’s leadership of working for billionaires, not the people.

He further alleged that over 40,000 women have gone missing in Odisha, calling it a humanitarian crisis ignored by those in power. “Fifteen women are raped every day in Odisha, and no one knows where thousands of women have disappeared,” Gandhi said, blaming what he called a “blood-sucking” regime for turning a blind eye to rampant exploitation.

Gandhi also made a sensational claim that the sacred Jagannath Yatra was once stopped mid-procession to accommodate Adani and his family, pointing to what he termed as “symbolic evidence” of corporate capture of the state’s traditions and governance.

“This is not the government of Odisha; it is the government of five or six billionaires,” Gandhi added, promising that the Congress would fight to return power to the people and protect land, forests, and livelihoods from “corporate theft.”