CBI Should Book Adani on Corruption Charges: CPI (M); Arrest Him, Says Rahul Gandhi
File photo of Opposition protest in Parliament. Image Credit: PTI
New Delhi: After indictment of Gautam Adani and seven others by the US Justice Department, Opposition parties on Monday reiterated their long-standing demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations against the Adani Group.
While Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanded the arrest of Gautam Adani, his party, Congress, demanded a comprehensive JPC, while the CPI(M) also demanded that the industrialist be booked forthwith by CBI.
In press release, the Communist party of India (Marxist) said the US indictment contains serious charges of paying bribes to Indian government officials at the Centre and state level.
“The indictment states that Rs. 2,029 crores was offered or promised to Indian government officials to get state electricity distribution companies to execute power sale agreements for the supply of solar power. The case has come up in the United States as the charge is that US investors were misled by the Adanis,” said the release.
The party said it was “shameful that such large-scale bribery and suborning of government officials by the Adanis had to be exposed not in India but in the United States through their criminal justice system,” adding that “Gautam Adani and his business empire have had the full protection of the Modi government to execute his unlawful and criminal activities. Prime Minister Modi himself had shielded Adani from any enquiry or prosecution on the charges emanating from the Hindenburg expose. “
The CPI(M) said the Modi government cannot hide behind any smokescreen now. “The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) must be directed to immediately file a case based on the material provided by the prosecution in the United States. Bribery of public servants comes under the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is under the remit of the CBI. A full-fledged investigation by an independent agency is required to unearth all other wrongdoings by the Adani group of companies.”
Vicious Nexus Involving Cronies: Congress
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ek Hain, Toh SAFE Hain”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said “it is about One Monopoly to protect the looted SAFE!”
In a post X (formerly Twitter), Kharge tagging the PM and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Kharge said: “When a top ranking Indian businessman is indicted by a foreign country, it tarnishes our image at the global stage.”
He said, “The Indian National Congress has been continuously objecting to unethical business practices which profiteer and promote certain individuals by implementing Modi Govt’s policy of creating monopolies in key sectors and concentrating wealth in the hands of few by giving undue favours.
This entire vicious nexus involving cronies, compromised bureaucrats and certain politicians created by PM Modi & Adani has to be investigated and dismantled. This nexus severely hurts our people - poor and middle class, aspiring entrepreneurs, MSMEs, Startups and crores of small and medium retail investors, for it widens inequalities by snatching savings and opportunities.”
The Congress demanded a comprehensive JPC, which “not only investigates every aspect of the working of the Adani Group, the deliberate institutional erosion of the SEBI, SECI and government bodies, and the deals of Adani Group in foreign countries is the need of the hour.”
Arrest Adani: Rahul Gandhi
At a press conference, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi called for the immediate arrest of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, alleging that the Prime Minister was “protecting him.”
The Congress leader, who has been for long demanding a probe into various allegations against the Adani group inside Parliament and outside, said the allegations and accusations made by the US Justice Department must be thoroughly investigated and appropriate legal action should be taken.
"Adani should be arrested and punished for his actions," he said, adding that the charges against the Indian billionaire highlight “serious governance and corruption concerns.”
The Adani Group in a statement has, however, brushed off the allegations as "baseless and denied."
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