Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday led a fresh attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the OCCRP report on the Adani group and questioned the role of Gautam Adani’s brother — Vinod Adani.
OCCRP’s report, published earlier today (August 31), claims that exclusive documents obtained by it show that “in at least two cases … [supposedly public] investors turn out to have widely reported ties to the group’s majority shareholders, the Adani family”, and helped manipulate Adani companies’ stock prices.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, where Rahul arrived to take part in the third meeting of the INDIA alliance of the Opposition, the Congress MP called upon the Prime Minister to break his silence on the Adani issue and the country’s reputation and his own image was at stake.
“We are raising this issue because the G20 Summit is taking place in India, leaders of these 20 nations are going to be here, and we have the top financial newspapers of the world making allegations against the Adanis. The PM must step up and order a JPC probe into the Adani Group. India’s reputation and the reputation of our Prime Minister is on the line,” Rahul said.
Citing media reports from foreign publications, Rahul further said that serious questions have been raised. “First, whose money is this? Is it Adani or someone else’s? There are two foreign nationals along with Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod who are involved in this.”
“Second question is, why these two foreign nationals being allowed to play with India’s infrastructure?” Gandhi questioned, adding that agencies like the CBI and the ED must investigate the matter.
Rahul also questioned the role of the SEBI investigation into the Adani issue and alleged a quid pro quo. “There was an investigation into this by SEBI and clean chit was given. The man who gave clean chit is now a director at NDTV,” Rahul alleged.
“It looks like an institutional network where foreign money is being pumped into buying ports and airports of India. Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi quiet about this? Why is there no problem? Why agencies like CBI and ED are not probing this?”
Rahul reiterated that the issues raised in the OCCRP report affect India’s reputation and must be probed. “G20 leaders are coming and the image of the Prime Minister and the country are on the line. JPC should be called and the matter should be investigated.”
When asked if he saw the possibility of the government advancing the Lok Sabha elections in view of the special session of Parliament called by the Centre from September 18-22, Rahul said what he saw was panic. “All I can see is panic. The same panic that drove them to disqualify me as an MP when I raised the (Adani) issue in Parliament. The Prime Minister is very sensitive about the issue and gets uncomfortable every time it is raised.”
The Adani Group, meanwhile, has categorically rejected the fresh allegations of stock manipulation levelled in the report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, terming them as a “concerted bid by Soros-funded interests” to “revive the meritless Hindenburg report”.
