Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said India was witnessing a much “deeper fight” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intention was to see the country enslaved by the Adani monopoly, pointing out that the struggle to resist this transformation was no less critical than the freedom movement.

Linking the fresh surveillance scare triggered by Apple’s warning of “state-sponsored attackers” targeting iPhones, received by some important Opposition leaders involved in the campaign against Adani, Rahul said: “Modi is employed by Adani to work for him. The hierarchy is like this: Number 1 — Adani. Number 2 — Modi. Number 3 — Amit Shah.”

The Congress leader contended that Modi’s desperation, as manifested in alleged illegalities like snooping on political opponents, was born out of mounting trouble for Adani. Rahul tweeted: “Idhar tote ki gardan pakdi, udhar krur Raja tadap raha hai. Jitni jasoosi karni hai kar lo. Hum darne wale nahin, ladne wale hain (As soon as the parrot’s neck came into grip, the cruel king began to squirm. Spy on us as much as you want, we are not going to be scared. We are going to fight).”

Rahul had narrated the story of a parrot and a king at a media conference minutes earlier.

Rahul said: “Nothing happened to a nasty king no matter how intense the people’s anger and fierce the Opposition’s attacks were. All the attacks failed to harm the king. A sage then disclosed that the king’s soul is in a parrot hidden in a cage elsewhere. Adani is Modi’s parrot. As soon as you touch Adani, ED-CBI gets activated. All the distractions are to ensure the attention doesn’t turn towards Adani.”

Although the allegations of corporate-ruler nexus are not new in politics, never in the last seven decades had a Prime Minister been accused of working for a tycoon aspiring to “enslave” India. Rahul said: “India was enslaved by the British East India Company. Now we are enslaved by Adani monopoly. Airports, ports, infrastructure, railways, food storage, data, cement, electricity… everything is handed over to Adani.”

The Congress leader added: “Even the ED and the CBI are controlled by Adani. Mumbai airport is proof. Adani took over Mumbai airport using ED-CBI. Adani monopoly affects everybody. Democracy is damaged; institutions are crippled because of this monopoly. The media doesn’t ask questions because of this monopoly. There is Adani tax everywhere — you use electricity, trains, gas…. And the BJP’s financial system is linked with Adani.”

The concerted attack on Adani demonstrates a well-crafted strategy to see Modi’s politics through the prism of Adani’s business interests. While Rahul said Adani was not being investigated despite piling evidence, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posted this message on X: “Modi Government’s sole mantra is Adani bachao, Loktantra mitao (Save Adani, erase democracy). B Jasoos Party (BJP) first used Pegasus to snoop on Opposition leaders and key institutions. Spying is continuing now with other instruments. INDIA alias Bharat will not be frightened by such intimidation tricks.”

In the ongoing state elections too, the Congress has been accusing Modi of helping Adani. Rahul named Opposition leaders who had received messages from Apple on state-sponsored attackers, such as his personal staff, close aides and Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal. He referred to the Pegasus spyware, too, saying: “The inquiry on Pegasus disappeared and that tells you (about) the situation in the country. But more and more people in the country now understand what is happening in the country.”

Arguing that such spying was done by “thieves and criminals”, Rahul said the evidence that was available in the Pegasus and Rafale controversies would have pulled down any other government, but politics had moved to a different level now, hinting at the disregard for truth and accountability. He insisted that Modi was wrong if he presumed he could control politics through technology, saying the Bharat Jodo Yatra had shown that.

Asked what he would do to deal with “Adani Sarkar” even if Modi was ousted from power in 2024, Rahul said: “Don’t think Adani will disappear after the change of government. This will have to be treated. I have some ideas but that can’t be shared at a press conference. Let the time come, we will show how to deal with Adani.”

The Congress leader clarified that he had nothing personal against Adani. “I see that as a structure. If it had any other name, I would have fought against it.” He said the problem was monopoly and a large section of businessmen in India was opposed to this.