Opp assails govt, Adanis; says will raise matter in Parliament

New Delhi, Nov 21: The Adani group’s indictment in the US over alleged bribery and fraud gave fresh ammunition to opposition parties to demand a joint parliamentary committee probe into the business group’s dealings, even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought Gautam Adani’s immediate arrest.
Addressing a press conference here, Gandhi claimed that it is now pretty clear and established in the US that the businessman has broken Indian as well as American laws.
Adani should be arrested immediately and interrogated while his “protector” and SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch should be removed from her post and a probe initiated, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Ek hain to safe hain’ slogan, Gandhi said as long as the prime minister and Adani are together, “they are safe” in India.
“Modi ji will never arrest Adani because in the end he will be the one to get caught. Therefore – ‘if we are one, we are safe’,” he said in a post on X.
The Adani group denied the charges, saying the allegations by US prosecutors are baseless and that the conglomerate is compliant with all laws. It also said it will pursue all possible legal recourse.
The issue has given fresh impetus to the opposition camp’s attacks on the government just ahead of the winter session of Parliament starting November 25, and is likely to dominate the proceedings of both houses.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said a comprehensive JPC probe into all aspects of the Adani group’s functioning, including its investments in foreign countries, and institutional erosion in India is the need of the hour. “This entire vicious nexus, involving cronies, compromised bureaucrats and certain politicians, created by PM Modi and Adani has to be investigated and dismantled,” he said in a post on X. (PTI)