Hours before polling for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections began, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday raised fresh allegations against the Congress and the previous United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

Releasing emails purportedly exchanged between Jayanthi Natarajan who was then the environment minister and Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal alleged that “non-state players” ran the government. Gandhi often used his clout to “overrule” former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on various policy decisions, Goyal claimed.

Goyal said that the emails show Natarajan seeking the guidance of Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi on various matters. He claimed that “Jayanthi tax”, a phrase coined by the Bharatiya Janata Party while referring to the corruption in her ministry, was in fact “Rahul tax”.

“These emails highlight a worrisome nexus,” said Goyal. He added that in one of the emails, Gandhi asked Natarajan to follow guidelines given to her by the party president about a project, showing that the prime minister had no role.

Referring to an email that purportedly shows Gandhi instructing Natarajan to ensure no dilution of environmental rules for clearance of a project in Gujarat, Goyal said that the Congress obstructed the development of the state when Narendra Modi was its chief minister.

“The right to overrule the prime minister’s decision lay elsewhere. I’m sure even Manmohan Singh would want to know what was the decision-making process then,” he said.