New Delhi: In what appeared to be an encore of his campaign against the alleged Rafale scam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “facilitating” the Adani Group’s meteoric rise through an array of seemingly partisan measures. In a hard-hitting speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Gandhi claimed the Adani Group secured deals and contracts in various sectors, allegedly at the prime minister’s behest.
“People asked me how Adani’s net worth increased from $8 billion to $140 billion between 2014 and 2022,” he said, adding that Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of the group, went from “609th to second rank” in the list of world’s richest persons during Modi’s tenure. “The real magic started” when BJP came to power in 2014, he alleged in his 40-minute speech during the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.
The Adani Group is in the spotlight after a US-based short-selling firm accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Since then, opposition parties have been demanding a discussion on the failure of the regulatory bodies and the Union government to check the alleged scam. Over the last few days, political parties have also been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or a Supreme Court-monitored independent probe on allegations of fraud against the Adani group.
The close links between the business house and the Modi government have been at the centre of the protest by opposition parties, which are projecting the Hindenburg expose as a striking instance of spiralling “crony capitalism”.
Gandhi contrasted the Adani Group’s rise with increasing levels of unemployment, inequality, and unprecedented price rise – problems plaguing the common man which, he said, were conspicuously missing in the president’s address.
Citing his experiences from the recently-concluded Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Wayanad MP said, “From Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Himachal Pradesh, we have been hearing one name everywhere – ‘Adani’. Across the entire country, it’s just ‘Adani’, ‘Adani’, ‘Adani’… Adaniji never fails in any business he ventures into – solar energy, wind energy. During my yatra, people asked me how Adani attained such success in so many sectors, what is his relationship with the prime minister.”
He said that the Adani Group, which was known to have only “1-2” businesses, now has a large footprint in “8-10” sectors that include airports, defence, ports, energy, aerospace, data centres, cement, and media.
Gandhi asked given that the Adani Group is the principal player in India’s strategic businesses like ports, airports and defence, why didn’t the Union government keep a check on the company’s dealings abroad. He was referring to the Hindenburg expose, which says the group used shell companies to jack up its valuation and stocks.
“Since the group is entrenched in India’s strategic businesses, the allegations of fraud against it is a national security matter,” he said, while other members demanded a JPC probe.
In making his case that Gautam Adani benefited greatly from his association with the prime minister, he said that the reason behind the Adani Group’s meteoric rise over the last eight years goes back to the time when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.
“The relationship (between Gautam Adani and Modi) began many years ago when Narendra Modiji was the chief minister of Gujarat, and when most of India’s businesses were asking questions of the prime minister; they were against him. One man stood shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister then. He was loyal to him,” Gandhi said, adding that Gautam Adani helped Modi in constructing “the idea of a resurgent Gujarat” and “bring different businessmen together” to set up businesses in Gujarat.
“The real magic started in 2014 when the prime minister came to Delhi,” he said, alleging that Adani’s rise was a result of a quid pro quo deal between Modi and Adani.
Also Read: Many Ingredients Went into the Adani Stock Price Meltdown
Gandhi has made similar allegations in India’s Rafale aircraft deal with the French company Dassault Aviation, in which he had alleged that the aircraft maintenance contract was unceremoniously taken from the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to be handed over to the inexperienced Anil Ambani group. On Tuesday, Gandhi said that the Adani group landed lucrative defence contracts soon after Modi’s visit to Israel. He said the Adani Group now holds over 30% of airports management contracts and around 90% of India’s strategic defence equipment manufacturing despite having no experience whatsoever in the sectors.
Even as Gandhi spoke, the BJP members opposed him, saying he was making “wild allegations” and could not make such allegations without “authenticating” them with valid proof. They demanded that the allegations should not be placed on record.
The opposition benches, however, appeared resolute in their demand for a JPC or an SC-monitored probe on the matter. Their protests are likely to stall house proceedings in the days to come.
