Stating that India’s reputation is at stake, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday renewed the party’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the allegations against the Adani group.
When foreign leaders travel to India to participate in the G20 Summit, the most pertinent question each of them could ask is about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reasons for “shielding” businessman Gautam Adani. “They ought to ask why is our prime minister protecting Adani. What is this special company and why is it getting a free-ride in India?” Rahul said.
“The reputation of India is at the stake. India no longer has a level playing field. All contracts and projects are given to one person. Only one person is buying all the assets of the country. It is clear that, that one person has done something wrong. It is an indicator of panic. Just like when they revoked my membership in Lok Sabha. Whenever one raises the Adani matter, the PM becomes uncomfortable,” Gandhi added.
Displaying copies of news stories by the Financial Times and The Guardian on a report by Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) levelling allegations against Adani group, Gandhi raised questions over the ownership of the money in question. The thrust of the reports is that Adani family partners used “opaque funds via Mauritius” to invest in its own group stocks, in violation of Indian regulations.
“The recent investigations by the newspapers have identified two persons, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli from the United Arab Emirates and Chang Chung-Ling from Taiwan … They are both foreign nationals. Why are they allowed to play a role in this? Adani’s company handles infrastructure, airports, ports in India. What are these two foreign nationals, especially a Chinese man, doing here?” he asked.
“There are two foreign nationals along with Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod involved in this. Second question is, why these two foreign nationals were allowed to play with India’s infrastructure?” Gandhi asked while addressing media in Mumbai ahead of the opposition alliance INDIA’s meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
“I am raising this issue simply because this is about the reputation of our country. We are only asking the PM to announce an investigation into the allegations levelled against the Adani Group,” the Congress leader, who spoke for 20 minutes and took three questions, said.
Rahul said that a clean chit was given to Adani after an investigation by SEBI.
“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 are agencies like CBI and ED not probing this?” he asked.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, while speaking to reporters earlier in the day, had said that the party has 100 questions for the government over the Adani issue and shall seek the answers to all the questions.
